Hwang Ui-jo scores again in Europe as KFA suspends him in Korea

Korean footballer Hwang Ui-jo scored again for British club Norwich City in a Championship match against Watford on Tuesday, heading onto the pitch just hours after the Korean Football Association announced his national team suspension.

Hwang Ui-jo has so far scored three goals for British club Norwich City this season, including one against Watford in Watford, England on Tuesday after the Korean Football Association announced his suspension from the Korean national team. [NORWICH CITY]

Korean footballer Hwang Ui-jo scored again for British club Norwich City in a Championship match against Watford on Tuesday, heading onto the pitch just hours after the Korean Football Association (KFA) announced his suspension from the national team amid the ongoing police investigation against him at home.

Hwang, who has been a critical scorer for Norwich in recent games, took control of the ball in the 12th minute at Vicarage Road to take a long-distance shot from the center. A confident punt got the ball past Watford goalie Ben Hamer to put the ball into the top of the net and his team up 2-0 after a minute-three goal by Danny Batth gave Norwich an early lead.

It would not be a night of celebration for visitors Norwich, however, as Hwang was kitted off the pitch minutes after his goal due what looked to be a hamstring injury, Norwich manager David Wagner confirmed during a post-game press conference.

Watford defeated Norwich 3-2 after equalizing with two goals in the 30th and 33rd minutes and scoring again in the second half as the away team failed to keep their form.

It’s not clear whether Hwang will be on the field this weekend as No. 14 Norwich next play No. 12 Bristol City on their opponents’ home turf.

But Hwang was already set to take a break from football in Korea as the KFA had announced his national team suspension hours before kick-off in Europe.

On Tuesday afternoon local time, the KFA said Hwang would be barred from playing for the Korean national football team until the end of an ongoing domestic police investigation into allegations he filmed sexual encounters without his partner’s consent, which is illegal.

“National athletes have a duty to behave with high moral standards and a sense of responsibility,” said Lee Yoon-nam, the head of the KFA's Ethics Committee. “In this sense, the KFA believes an athlete must manage his private life according to such standards.”

Lee Yoon-nam, chairman of the ethics committee of the Korea Football Association, delivers a brief on the results of a meeting to discuss Hwang Ui-jo's suspension from the nationl team in central Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

In June, an Instagram user claiming to be an ex-lover of the 31-year-old footballer posted a video of a naked man with a woman and alleged that the man was Hwang.

Hwang has denied the allegations and in June sued the user for defamation and blackmail.

He has since continued to play for Korea and in Europe — even as the allegations reached a new stage this month. Police booked Hwang for questioning days before the national team flew to China for a second round Asian qualifier match as the team began their bid for Korea’s 11th straight World Cup in 2026.

Hwang played in both national team matches this month, against Singapore at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Western Seoul, scoring a goal, and days later against China in Shenzhen, China.

And Hwang headed to pitch on Tuesday hours after KFA announced his suspension at home fresh off a winner in Europe as Norwich City beat Queens Park Rangers 1-0 over the weekend with Hwang’s early goal.

Korean national football team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann downplayed the illegal sex tape allegations surrounding the midfielder after the match in China, calling them “speculations.”

“I live in this world since 40 years, professional football, there are always speculations. And until there is nothing proven to something that people speculate, I don’t believe it,” Klinsmann said. “So it’s, for me, totally normal that Ui-jo, whatever is speculated there in Korea at the moment, is not true.”

Norwich manager Wagner has also so far expressed his support for Hwang, who has played in both games after returning from Korea where police booked him for questioning.

“Ui-jo is a fantastic player, everybody knows it. You make 50 games for South Korea for a reason,” Wagner said during a post-game conference last week after Hwang scored the winner for Norwich City against QPR in his first match back following the international break.

“Obviously, privately it was not super easy for him, but the only thing what we can do is we can support him, we can give him a game time that he has his head here with us and with football, I think this is what we can do,” Wagner said. “Anything else, we have to see how this continues, but he is in good hands with the lawyers who support him.”

Norwich are set to next meet Bristol at Ashton Gate in Bristol, England on Sunday.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]