▲ Coach Park Hang-seo
Coach Park Hang-seo of Kanchanaburi Power FC in the Thai second-division professional football league stated regarding an incident where he faced racially discriminatory mockery from a spectator presumed to be an opposing team fan after a match, "There was also continuous profanity and derogatory remarks directed at the players."
Coach Park clashed with an opposing spectator after drawing 2-2 in an away match of the 2026-2027 Thai League 2 season against Pattaya United held at the Nongprue Stadium in Pattaya, Thailand, on November 1.
According to local media, a male spectator, presumed to be a Pattaya fan, repeatedly shouted "Kimchi man" mixed with profanity at Coach Park as he was heading to the locker room, and also made comments insulting the appearance of Madagascar-born midfielder John Baggio.
Enraged, Coach Park responded strongly by putting his finger to his lips to signal the spectator to be quiet, and when the mockery continued, he made a gesture of throwing a punch and shouted at him to "come down."
Regarding this, DJ Management, Coach Park's management agency, stated today, "Coach Park and Baggio have submitted an official statement of explanation to the Football Association of Thailand." They added, "Coach Park protested to the spectator because the spectator continued to hurl profanity and make appearance-derogatory remarks toward Baggio. The spectator also used the racially discriminatory expression 'monkey'."
They further stated, "Coach Park directly witnessed the insulting words and actions inflicted on the player, and the explanation contains the content that he protested to the spectator to stop them," adding, "He sought to fulfill his responsibility as a leader who must protect his players."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
