This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
On August 8, 2019, thousands of fans in Seoul were left disappointed when Cristiano Ronaldo failed to appear in a friendly match against a K-League all-stars team.
The Portuguese striker stayed on the bench throughout the game, with Juventus citing medical advice due to muscle fatigue as the reason for his absence.
However, this explanation did not sit well with the sell-out crowd of 65,000, who made their displeasure known during the game, which was delayed for an hour after Juventus arrived late from the airport.
The K-League has since accused Juventus of "deception" and demanded an apology, but the club has rejected these accusations, with chairman Andrea Agnelli writing to the K-League to explain that Ronaldo was rested due to medical advice.
Meanwhile, South Korean police have raided the sports agency, The Fasta, as part of a fraud inquiry, following a criminal complaint filed by an unnamed individual.
The complaint accuses The Fasta of swindling some 6 billion won (US$4.9 million) worth of ticket sales by saying the contract with Juventus obliged Ronaldo to play for at least 45 minutes, without warning buyers that he might not appear.
According to police, the raid was intended to investigate whether The Fasta lied by claiming Ronaldo was guaranteed to play.
"We raided the office on Thursday," a Seoul police officer told AFP. "We are looking into whether the agency proceeded with the match even though they were well aware prior to the game that Ronaldo may not -- or was not going to -- play."
