North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is often in the headlines for his bizarre and astonishing actions. Recently, he made headlines again for a football-related decision—imposing a ban on broadcasting Tottenham’s matches in North Korea. But the question arises: why this ban?
The reason for this strange decision is linked to Tottenham’s captain, Son Heung-min, who is from South Korea. According to Fox Sports, citing The Sun, the rule is that if a South Korean player is on a team, that team’s matches will not be broadcast in North Korea.
This decision will not only disappoint Tottenham fans in North Korea but also affect Kim Jong-un himself. For example, tonight, his favorite team, Manchester United, will play, but he won’t be able to watch the match. The reason is that Manchester United’s opponent is Tottenham, a team under the broadcasting ban. This will leave Kim with a sense of frustration.
It’s not just Tottenham that’s banned from being aired; North Koreans will also miss the matches of Wolves and Brentford, as both clubs have South Korean players. Wolves have forward Hwang Hee-chan, while Brentford has defender Kim Ji-soo.
A recent investigation by the U.S.-based research institution, the Stimson Center, revealed surprising details. They reported that last season, the games of Wolves and Brentford were also not broadcast due to the South Korean players. Martin Williams, a Stimson Center official, said, “We found this interesting. We’ve watched a lot of football on Casetv, and it’s their main broadcast game.”
Watching football on TV is already a challenge for North Korean viewers. Many of the games they watch are about four months old, meaning they won’t see today’s match until four months later—and not the full 90 minutes. The games are shortened to around 60 minutes. Yet, despite all this, North Koreans remain quite interested in football. After all, it’s still football.
