Inter-Korean World Cup qualifier in Pyeongyang ends in blank draw
  • 5 years ago
The historic sports match between the two Koreas in Pyeongyang - the first of its kinds in 29 years - ended with neither side scorching the net.
The event dubbed 'the world's strangest footfall derby'... had no crowd in attendance and no live broadcast.
Kan Hyeong-woo reports.
Tuesday's inter-Korean World Cup qualifier in Pyeonyang had a lot of zeroes.
There were zero goals from either side, zero spectators in the stands, not even the tens of thousands of North Korean supporters who were expected to fill up the staple Kim Il-sung Stadium...and zero permits to broadcast the match live.
The reasons for keeping the stadium empty are still unknown.
And football fans were practically blindfolded during the inter-Korean derby.
To get real-time updates from the match, fans and media outlets had to rely on either the Korea Football Association's social media posts or the official websites of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.
Even then, the only information available about the long awaited match was that four yellow cards were issued and five substitutions were made from the two Koreas.
Although It's not clear how or when the video footage of the match will be released,... North Korea has promised to give a DVD of the footage to South Korean officials after the game.
That's according to an official at Seoul's unification ministry,... who also said South Korean fans should be able to watch it once some technical issues are solved.
Asked whether the DVD will contain the entire match,... the official said that's likely to be the case.
With Tuesday's draw, South Korea still holds the top place in Group H in the second round of the Asian Qualification for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
South Korea's national football team is expected to arrive at the Incheon International Airport early Thursday.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News.
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