South Korean club FC Seoul have been fined 100 million Korean won, or $82,000, for placing sex dolls in the stands in place of fans during a league match.
With fans barred from the stadium for their K-League match against Gwangju FC due to the coronavirus, FC Seoul decided to spice things up a bit by placing about 20 dolls in the stands.
Some of the dolls were dressed up in the club’s colours and were wearing face masks as well while others bore the name of a sex doll manufacturer.
The move sparked outrage, within and outside South Korea with the club coming in for a lot of criticism.
The Korean League is strictly against rules inappropriate or sexual advertisements and to serve as a deterrent the record fine was imposed on Seoul.
Authorities said the incident had “damaged the prestige and integrity of the league”
The club apologised for their actions saying their intention “provide entertainment” during the closed-off game.
“We are sincerely sorry for causing deep concern to fans,’ they said in a statement to supporters. We have confirmed from the very beginning that they had no connection to sex toys. Our intention from the start was to provide even a small entertainment after it was decided that the games would be hosted behind closed doors due to coronavirus,” the club said in a statement.
“Regardless of that, we would like to apologise once again to everyone who loves and supports FC Seoul. We will be holding further discussions on how we can review potential problems in similar matters. We will put forth our due diligence to prevent such issues in the future.”
An official of Seoul Facilities Corporation, the body that operates Seoul World Cup Stadium,has reportedly said that displaying unpermitted advertising in the stadium could lead to Seoul being barred from using it for future games.