South Korea angered by Queiroz 'hand gesture'

South Korea accused Iran’s Carlos Queiroz of making a rude gesture at rival coach Choi Kang-Hee after their highly charged World Cup qualifier today, and said they expected FIFA to investigate.

According to a Korean Football Association official, Queiroz made an obscene hand gesture at Choi after his team’s 1-0 victory in Ulsan, which booked their place at next year’s World Cup.

He said some of South Korea’s players who saw the gesture had to be restrained by team staff to stop them from running towards the Iran bench. The official added that a FIFA supervisor also saw the incident and may make a report.

No comment about the incident was immediately available from Queiroz. The game was marked by an unusually bad-tempered build-up, with South Korea vowing to “make life painful” for Iran and to force their captain to cry “tears of blood”.

Queiroz had called the comments, which stem from Korean complaints of alleged ill-treatment during their trip to Tehran last year, “shameful”. This week, photos circulated on Twitter of Queiroz wearing a picture of Choi taped to his T-shirt.

Tuesday’s game came to an unsavoury end when hundreds of fans pelted water bottles and other debris on the pitch as the Iranian team celebrated victory.

South Korea also qualified for the World Cup on goal difference after Uzbekistan beat Qatar 5-1 today.

“My team played with a realistic approach, to try and wait for a weak point in the Korean team and with a counter-attacking attitude,” Queiroz said afterwards.

“The goal came in one of those situations and fortunately, when Korea created opportunities, our players fought for our lives. The team played with fantastic team spirit with great practical discipline and enormous determination.”

Choi, who is stepping down as the South Korean coach, said he did not want to comment on his pre-match feud with Queiroz.

“I am not going to comment on that. After this loss, whatever I say may sound like an excuse,” he said.