South Korean Fans Win Compensation After Ronaldo No-Show In Juve Friendly
A South Korean court has ordered for two football fans to be compensated £240 each after Cristiano Ronaldo failed to appear in a friendly match for Juventus as advertised last year.
A group of angry South Korean football fans demanded a refund of their tickets after Ronaldo failed to play in a friendly game at the Seoul World Cup stadium last July.
The pre-season game between Italian champions Juventus and South Korea’s K-League All-Stars ended in a 3-3 draw but Ronaldo remained on the bench throughout.
South Korean agency, The Fasta, which organized the game had advertised that the five-time Ballon d’or winner would play at least 45 minutes of the game, leading to a sell-out crowd of 65,000 at the Seoul World Cup stadium.
Tickets priced at €25 and €338 went out of stock just two-and-a-half hours after going on sale on July 3 after fans heard of Ronaldo’s impending participation.
The Portuguese however did not play a single minute of the game, and fans showed their displeasure by filing a lawsuit against the company which arranged the game, demanding for a refund of their money.
On Tuesday, a district court in Incheon, West of Seoul, ruled that two fans should be compensated £46 for the match ticket and £196 for “mental anguish”.
Lawyer for the plaintiffs, Kim Min-ki, has further disclosed that 87 other supporters have sued the advertising agency in other cases related to the match.
