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| Lyngaard documentary video capture |
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| Source=Daily Express homepage capture |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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FC Seoul captain Jesse Lingard (33) was found to have made a surprise departure to his home country of England during the season.
Lingard left for England after the ninth round of the 'Hana Bank K League 1 2025' against Gwangju held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 19th. After promising to the club that he would return in time for the 10th round of the K League 1 away game against Pohang at Pohang Steelyard on the 27th, he boarded a flight to England on the 21st. Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong and the Seoul club reportedly allowed Lingard to visit the UK under the judgment that the family first. It was not an easy decision, given the distance from England and the time difference. Coach Kim was also considerate of Lingard, who is 'Goose Dad' during the last season, to meet his young daughter in England.
There is a special story this time. British public broadcaster 'BBC' reported on the 22nd (Korea time) that Lingard appeared as a defense witness at Liverpool Crown Court and testified for Kenneth Lingard (86), a grandfather accused of child sex crimes. Kenneth was accused of sexually harassing a woman from the age of five until she was 19. The woman, now 60, reported sexual abuse to police after seeing Kenneth 'Umji' in the 2022 documentary 'Jessie Lingard-The Untold Story'. Kenneth completely denies 17 counts of harassment.
Lingard, who was in court in a suit, thanked him for living with his grandparents from the age of two to three and fully supporting his career. He said "My grandfather taught me all the skills, including basic soccer. He drove from Liverpool to Manchester, Crewe, Barnsley and Stoke and watched me play soccer. "Grandpa is the one who made me here today.
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| Source=Jessie Lingard Instagram |
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| Source=Jessie Lingard Instagram |
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| K League 1 FC Seoul and Gimcheon Sangmu at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 3rd. Seoul Lingard is attempting an overhead kick. Sangam = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.3.3/ |
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Lingard's love of grandparents from Manchester United is terrible. It is said that one of the reasons why he spent nearly eight months invincible without joining a new team after his contract with English Premier League club Nottingham Forest in 2023 was to spend time with his grandparents. In particular, his grandmother, who took care of the young Lingard, stayed with him until he died of illness.
This woman was offended that Kenneth was described as such a hero"I explained the reason for the report. After the broadcast, it was also revealed that he sent text messages to Lingard three times.
'Jessie Lingard, shame on you. There are too many lies. Kenneth Lingard, your grandfather, harassed and sexually abused me. You know it too.', 'You made a documentary for money and to look like a mental health ambassador. As you say, I'm speaking out. There is no more silence.' He reportedly pressured Lingard with messages such as "back."
In another article, the grandfather mentioned that 'pedophile', 'child abuser' is hiding a dark secret'. He also accused Lingard's late grandmother of 'Attractor'.
Lingard was adamant. He criticized this woman for putting her grandfather on the documentary, saying, `I don't know what you're talking about? I thought I'd never heard anything about this." When the woman threatened to report it to the police, she testified that "If you want it, do it."
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Lingard vented to the jury that the woman appeared "out of the blue, rather random". And if I had known about my grandfather's alleged abuse before, I would have cut the relationship right away. Lingard also said he would block his grandfather from seeing his daughter and sister if the woman's allegations were true.
The reason for making the documentary was "Mental health reasons, and just to show how my family and footballer live. After all, we are all human beings."
Asked if his grandfather's trial caused problems, "How many sponsorship contracts in Korea were canceled. And more sponsorship deals had to be put on hold" he vented. The trial is scheduled to resume on the 23rd local time.
Lingard plans to return to the team during the week as promised by head coach Kim and prepare for the 10th round of the K League 1 against Pohang at Pohang Steelyard on the 27th. He has scored four goals in nine games this season. Seoul, which had been undefeated in seven consecutive games, lost 1-2 against Gwangju. He was ranked sixth with three wins, four draws, two losses and 13 points.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
