When Incheon United, the “survival king” of professional soccer K League 1, was relegated for the first time, Incheon Football Stadium was full of political opponents without boos or encouragement.
Incheon lost 1-2 at home in the 37th round of Hana Bank K League 1 2024 against Daejeon Hana Citizen at Incheon Football Stadium on the 10th.
As a result, Incheon recorded 8 wins, 12 draws and 17 losses (36 points), and was directly demoted as the bottom was confirmed regardless of the final result.
The Incheon stands became quiet for a moment when the ending whistle, meaning Incheon’s relegation, sounded.
It was difficult for fans to easily accept Incheon’s “Sad Ending,” the “survival king” who had not even experienced the promotion playoffs since its inception in 2003 and the introduction of the promotion system in 2013.
Incheon fans, one of the teams famous for their high cheering heat in the K-League, but there was no singing at that moment. They are also violent fans who were controversial for throwing water bottles on the ground last summer, and there were no small boos or sighs on the day.
There was a strange silence between the 10,000 crowd and the players, with Incheon players standing in front of the fans looking stunned and unable to say anything for a while.
After a long time, Lee Myung-joo, the captain of Incheon, took the microphone and broke her silence. When Lee Myung-joo said, “Thanks to you here, I was able to challenge until the end. Thank you. We will work harder and come back to where we need to be,” a small round of applause leaked out.
Starting from that, players bowed their heads to fans, who began to console each other by applauding the players. However, it was not easy to overcome the pain of demotion immediately.
Mugosa Temple in Incheon and Delbridge buried their faces in their uniforms and wiped away their tears. Children’s fans in the cheering section were also seen shedding tears.
Even after the players left the ground with heavy steps, the gloomy atmosphere continued.
Incheon representative Jeon Do-soo, whose eyes are red, met with reporters at the Mix Zone and bowed his head, saying, “As a representative, I am sorry to the citizens of Incheon and the fans who love Incheon.”
“It is the responsibility of the team’s representative to hurt the players and fans so much,” he said, even expressing his intention to resign. 먹튀검증
Mugosa from Incheon bit his lip, saying, “This is the saddest day of my soccer career.” Kim Do-hyuk from Incheon also said, “I want to make up for the fans who trusted me until the end with actions. For now, all I can do is thank you. I am so sorry for not being able to protect my team,” and he couldn’t continue the interview because he choked up.
Although he was the “survival king” who held a miracle party every winter, the Incheon soccer field was brutally quiet on this day.