 |
 |
|
|
 |
By Stuart Roach
BBC Sport Online's man in Korea
|
 |
 |
South Korea have lodged an official complaint over China's coverage of this World Cup.
They claim the Chinese media's reporting of South Korea's march to the semi-final has been "distorted".
It seems a large proportion of the Chinese press claimed South Korea's performance was mainly down to bad refereeing and a conspiracy.
They clearly weren't the only ones, as much of the world's media jumped to the same conclusions.
But Koreans were particularly miffed about the China coverage - and they think it came as a result of the home fans' support for Turkey.
"China thought the South Koreans would cheer on the Chinese team but many South Koreans supported the Turkish team in their match against the Chinese," said a Korean ministry official in charge of Chinese affairs.
The resulting coverage in China has led Kim Ha-Joong, the South Korean ambassador to Beijing, to write letters of protest to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Communist Party and to various media groups.
"We conveyed our stance that the Chinese media's coverage had been too much and demanded correction," said a Foreign Office official.
Last-minute souvenir hunters are having to scratch around for a bargain now.
After five weeks of hard sell, the official merchandise shelves are looking a little bare.
The T-shirts are nearly all gone and even the World Cup wine looks like running dry.
But there are alternatives.
One supermarket close to my Daegu hotel had the perfect solution.
There it was, beautifully presented in a large yellow gift box.
A presentation pack of Spam.
Something to take home to the loved ones.
Is it just me, or does Turkey coach Senol Gunes bear a striking resemblance to Melvyn Hayes?
Gunes' double life
|
Against Korea, the coach was out of his seat on countless occasions on a balmy night in Gwangju, turning the touchline into a scene from It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
To be fair, the Turks were pretty hot in this game - and it was no laughing matter for South Korea.