This archive report was first published on 18 May 2020.
On May 17, 2020, FC Seoul, a South Korean professional football team, held a match against Gwangju FC in an empty stadium due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, the team's attempt to bring a touch of realism to the game backfired.
The club had placed mannequins around the stands, which were off-limits to supporters, but these turned out to be sex dolls. The incident sparked widespread criticism on social media, with many users pointing out the dolls' resemblance to real humans.
FC Seoul has since apologized for the incident, stating that it was the result of a 'misunderstanding' with the supplier. The club claimed that it had checked with the supplier and received assurances that the dolls were not intended for sexual use.
However, photographs taken at the stadium showed the dolls spaced out among seats in front of life-size cardboard cutouts of the team's players. The incident has raised concerns that it may bring international disgrace to the K-League, which has been holding matches since the start of the pandemic.
FC Seoul's statement read: 'We would like to apologise to our fans. We're genuinely sorry to our fans about the installation of the mannequins at our game on May 17.' The club added that it would 'think hard about what we need to do to ensure that something like this never happens again.'
