Ahead of Korea's visit to Korea, the controversy over the Rising Sun Flag, Newcastle, sorry for the unpleasant feeling, and the voting for the selection of the ultra-light apple team K-League begins

Jul 03, 2025

Newcastle in the English Premier League (EPL) is facing a shock wave of controversy over the 'Wook Ilgi'.

On the 2nd (Korea time), Newcastle announced the launch of the third uniform next season in collaboration with Adidas on the club's official social network service (SNS). In the promotional video, a scene in which an Asian who appeared to be Japanese waved a Newcastle flag reminiscent of the Rising Sun Flag became controversial. It is clear that the flag inscribed with the words 'NUFC JAPAN' is a modified version of the Rising Sun Flag, a symbol of Japanese imperialism and war criminals, but only black and white in Newcastle. The British daily Daily Mail wrote that the image is similar to the Japanese flag used by the Japanese Army and Navy during World War II. 'At that time, the Japanese flag had a red circle in the center and 16 red rays spread out from it. The flag was used for centuries in Japan and is still visible in Japanese society today, but it became a controversial issue in relation to Japanese militarism.' South Korea claims that the flag symbolizes the past of Japanese imperialism, and China, North Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Russia have also linked the flag to World War II. Korea was occupied by the Japanese during World War II and the Japanese army was accused of atrocities against the colony until Japan's surrender in 1945.

Newcastle, which quickly saw through the controversy, deleted the first video and immediately apologized for the scenes that could cause an unpleasant feeling. "The reaction to the new third uniform with Adidas was extraordinary, but the release video included a scene that could inadvertently offend. I apologize for this. The scene was deleted from the video so that as many fans as possible could enjoy it" commented.

Korean fans are disappointed and angry at the untimely controversy over the Rising Sun Flag ahead of the Asian tour such as Korea and Singapore. Newcastle's club may be embarrassed, but it reminds us that respect and understanding of the culture and emotions of the country must precede as European big clubs use Asian and Asian fans as a means of making money in the preseason.

Newcastle will play Arsenal at the Singapore National Stadium on the 27th before visiting Korea. He will play a friendly match against Team K League at Suwon World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 30th. On August 3, Son Heung-min will face Tottenham at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Team K League and the game were sold out in 30 minutes, and Tottenham, where Captain Son Heung-min will play, was sold out in 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, on the 3rd, right after Newcastle's apology for the Rising Sun Flag controversy, the Korean Professional Football Federation (hereinafter referred to as the 'Federation') unveiled 44 candidates for each position in the team's K-League that will clash with Newcastle at 8 p.m. on the 30th and announced a fan-eleven vote. League stars such as Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan), Jeon Jin-woo (Jeonbuk), and Lee Dong-kyung (Kimcheon) and top foreign players in the K-League such as Lingard (Seoul), Andersson (Suwon FC), Asani (Gwangju), and Mota (Anyang) were also listed. The team's K-League squad consists of 'Couple Youngple', 'Fan Eleven', and 11 starting coaches. 'Fan Eleven' is 11 people selected through fan voting, and based on the best 11 of each team submitted by 12 K League 1 clubs, the Federation Technical Committee (TSG) selected four times candidates for each position. Fan voting will be held on the official K-League application 'Kick' from 12 p.m. on the 4th to midnight on the 13th, and one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three strikers will be selected in the order of multiple votes among all candidates.

Each ID can vote once a day, and 11 players can be selected based on the 4-3-3 formation. However, only up to three players from the same team can be selected. During the voting period, players who transfer to non-K League 1 teams will be excluded from the candidate along with the details of the vote, and players who transfer to other teams in K League 1 will change only their teams while maintaining the details of the vote. The final result of 'Fan Eleven' will be announced on the 15th, and various prizes will be given through a lottery among fans who participated every day during the voting period.After the selection of 'Fan Eleven' is completed, Team K League coach Kim Pan-gon and head coach Lee Jung-hyo will select additional players. In additional selection, the position and the allocation of the number of people for each team are considered.

◇Team K League 'Fan Eleven'Candidate list (44) *Player name in alphabetical order

▶FW: Lingard (Seoul), Mota (Anyang), Moon Sun-min (Seoul), Asani (Gwangju), Andersson (Suwon FC), Eric (Ulsan), Lee Dong-kyung (Kimcheon), Lee Seung-woo (Jeonbuk), Lee Ho-jae (Pohang), Jeon Jin-woo (Jeonbuk), Joo Min-gyu (Daejeon), Hayes (Gwangju)

▶MF: Ko Seung-beom (Ulsan), Kim Dong-hyun (Gangwon), Kim Jin-gyu (Jeonbuk), Nam Tae-hee (Jeju), Luan (Suwon FC), Mateus (Anyang), Boyanich (Ulsan), Seo Min-woo (Gangwon), Auberdan (Pohang), Lee Seung-won (Kimcheon), Lee Tal-ro (Jeju), Jung Seung-won (Seoul)

▶DF: Kang Sang-woo (Ulsan), Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan), Kim Jin-soo (Seoul), Kim Tae-hwan (Jeonbuk), Rubik'sson (Ulsan), Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk), Park Chan-yong (Kimcheon), Byun Jun-su (Gwangju), Yazan (Seoul), Eo Jeong-won, Lee Tae-seok, Jeon Min-kwang (Pohang), Choi Jun (Seoul), Cao (Daegu), Hong Jeong-ho (Jeonbuk)

▶GK: Kim Kyung-min (Gwangju), Song Beom-geun (Jeonbuk), Lee Chang-geun (Daejeon), Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan)

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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.