Son Heung-min urged South Korea fans to go easy on Lee Kang-in as the Tottenham star broke his silence regarding their altercation at the Asian Cup.

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• Son and Lee involved in table tennis dispute
• Spurs star suffered finger injury in altercation
• South Korea hero told fans to forgive team-mate

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Son and Lee were involved in a dispute after the Paris Saint-Germain star left the team's dinner to play ping-pong during the Asian Cup. The Spurs hero and South Korea captain confronted his team-mate and suffered a dislocated finger in the resulting altercation. Son has spoken out about the incident for the first time and asked fans to forgive his co-star.

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• WHAT SON SAID

  "To prevent Kang-in from such wrong behaviour again, all of our players, as seniors of the national team, will take special care from his side so that he can grow into a better person and player," Son said on Instagram. "When I was younger, I made my share of mistakes. And I think I am where I am in my career today thanks to the advice and guidance from good veterans whenever that happened."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The incident occurred before South Korea's Asian Cup semi-final defeat against Jordan, sending them out of the tournament in a shock defeat. Lee has also spoken out about the altercation, saying: "That day, I did something I should never have done at dinner. I deeply regret it," he said. "I promised to have a more proper attitude and courtesy when dealing with my seniors and colleagues. I would like to thank them once again for accepting and embracing my apology. I knew in my head how important this tournament was to Son, but I didn't show that with my behaviour. And I think that's where all the problems began."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Having sacked manager Jurgen Klinsmann after their failure, the Korean Football Association will begin their hunt for a new coach to lead their campaign to qualify for the World Cup. Son, meanwhile, will hope to lead Spurs into the Champions League by helping them secure a top four finish in the Premier League.

Tags: Futebol
Category: News