“The football world was shocked and suddenly disappeared.” The story of a professional athlete from North Korea

Network reviewedCNNAl-Ekbariya is the story of a young North Korean soccer player whose star shines quickly before disappearing without knowing his fate from 2021.

Han Kwang Sang became the first North Korean player to score in one of Europe’s big five leagues until his sudden move to Italian giants Juventus in 2019 and then to Qatar’s Al-Tuhail.

But his promising career faded when he disappeared from the world football stage in 2020, leaving the question “Where is this North Korean player?” It made fans wonder.

Han was born in 1998 in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Not much is known about his career except that he attended the prestigious Pyongyang International Football School, founded out of love for the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un. For the game.

When Kim took power in 2012, sports became a rare window into a country largely hidden from the rest of the world.

According to a statement by South Korea’s Unification Ministry, the North Korean leader has used sports as soft power and invested in elite sports to promote his country internationally and boost security and personnel.

North Korea has begun increasing its participation in major international sporting events, including the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2018 Winter Olympics.

At the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, the two countries marched together under the Korean Unification Flag during the opening ceremony as a unified Korean women’s ice hockey team.

Among the standout players at the Pyongyang academy established in 2013 was Han Kwang-sang, who was sent abroad at government expense to train in Europe.

Han became the biggest success story of Kim’s efforts to transform the country into a sporting power when the North Korean player was selected by Italian talent scouting center ISM Academy.

And in 2015, the ambitious boy, along with his North Korean counterpart Choi Sang-hyuk, packed his bags for Perugia, the capital of the Umbria region in central Italy, north of the capital Rome.

Hahn spent at least one year in the academy before gaining successful experience with Cagliari’s youth team, which paved the way for him to become a professional footballer.

Playing as a striker, Hahn joined the Cagliari club’s youth team in March 2017, where he scored a goal in his first match with the under-19 team, which quickly promoted him to the first team, according to Cagliari youth coach Max Conci. He told CNN.

Han scored his first goal in the Italian league, the first by a North Korean player in one of the five major leagues in Europe, on April 2, 2017, a week after his professional debut.

Agreement after sanctions

Later, the promising star was loaned from Cagliari to “AC Perugia” and then to Juventus U-23, after which the Italian giant bought him for $3.74 million in January 2020, according to the “Transfer Market” website.

However, Han’s dream of donning the “Old Lady” shirt lasted only a week, after Juventus sold her contract to Qatari club Al-Tuhail for $7.7 million in the same month, according to a United Nations Security Council report. of experts.

But it is unclear how Juventus and Al Duhail will proceed with the transfer, which comes after the deadline for a UN Security Council resolution.

On September 3, 2017, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test, according to the UN. It prompted the Security Council to impose a list of economic sanctions on the Asian nation, citing “ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile-related activities that destabilize the region and beyond.”

Sanctions are all UN sanctions. Member states must also stop issuing work permits to North Korean nationals under their jurisdiction.

In addition, the UN Security Council decided after three months to ban all North Korean nationals working abroad “profiting from foreign exports from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” that support banned ballistic nuclear programs no later than December 22. 2019.

Despite his exceptional football talent, young Han was not exempt from these punishments. CNN reached out to Han’s former agent, Sandro Stemperini, and Al Duhail Clube for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Juventus has not commented on the matter.

The North Korean player’s contract with Al-Tuhail lasted until the 2023-2024 season, and he achieved significant success in his first season with the Qatari team, but his career in Qatar did not last long.

While Han has performed admirably in the field, questions linger about whether he is sending his earnings home, as the UN Security Council has said of other North Koreans working abroad.

The UN document shows Han signed a pledge to Qatar Bank saying “under no circumstances will we transfer any amount to North Korea”.

Meanwhile, Choi, a fellow soccer talent and friend who accompanied Han to Italy, lost his chance to play for Serie A club Fiorentina after the Italian parliament opened an investigation into allegations that the Kim regime embezzled his salary.

While it is unclear in Han’s case whether he sent money to the Kim regime, it is widely reported that North Korea often pressures its employees abroad to send money to the government back home.

Han’s last game with Al-Tuhail was on 21 August 2020, when he came off the bench against Al-Ahly at the end of the season.

Last appearance in Italy

In March 2021, the UN Months passed with no word on Han’s whereabouts until the final report of the panel of experts released by the Security Council confirmed that the player’s contract with Al-Tuhail had been terminated earlier that year and he had been deported from Qatar. .

CNN reached out to Al-Tuhail and Qatari officials for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

A strict border closure in North Korea due to the emerging coronavirus outbreak at the time left Han far from his homeland.

He boarded a Qatar Airways flight from Doha on January 26, 2021 when he was deported, according to a letter attached to the final report of the UN Security Council Panel of Experts. The plane took Han back to Rome, an official familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN.

CNN reached out to the Italian foreign ministry and FIFA, but did not immediately receive a response.

According to another official close to the case, Han is said to be living in an unidentified North Korean embassy in 2021, awaiting the resumption of flights to Pyongyang.

“I think he’s still there,” said Jorn Andersson, a former coach of the North Korean national soccer team. He continued, “But he can’t continue to play football. It’s very unfortunate that he didn’t continue to play and grow.”