FIFA to punish North Korea
ByReuters
Published 05/04/2005 at 12:35 GMT
FIFA president Sepp Blatter says North Korea face punishment after last week's crowd violence in Pyongyang. Crowd trouble after last Wednesday's World Cup qualifier between North Korea and Iran has heightened security fears ahead of Japan's politically ch
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"The only thing I can say is that in past incidents FIFA's disciplinary committee was very strong in order to maintain order and discipline in all competitions...especially the World Cup," Blatter told reporters in Tokyo.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has said the venue of the game between North Korea and Japan will not be switched despite an outbreak of public violence rarely seen in the reclusive state.
Soldiers and riot police stepped in to restore order after trouble flared following a late red card shown to North Korea's Nam Song-chol after he shoved the referee.
BOTTLES HURLED
The game was held up for five minutes as angry fans hurled bottles on to the pitch at Kim Il-sung Stadium.
Worse followed after the final whistle with match officials and Iran's players unable to leave the pitch as rocks, bottles and chairs rained down. Iran won the tie 2-0.
North Korean officials have asked FIFA to take "strict sanctions" against referees they accused of being biased in the match with Iran and in the 2-1 defeat by Bahrain five days earlier.
The Japan Football Association (JFA) has asked the AFC to demand tighter security for their trip to North Korea.
Japan are expected to qualify for next year's World Cup finals in Germany but North Korea's chances were all but dashed by their defeat against Iran.
North Korea's final Group B home match against Japan is set to be another tense affair.
The two countries, which do not have diplomatic ties, are locked in bitter disputes over Pyongyang's abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago and North Korea's nuclear arms programme.
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