The North Korean football team has not done at all well in the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in the UAE. They lost all their group matches – 4-0 to Saudi Arabia, 6-0 to Qatar (!), and 4-1 to Lebanon – and finished bottom of Group E. They will take no further part in the tournament.
As if that wasn't bad enough, they've also been fined for foul play.
North Korea's footballers have been slapped with heavy fines after repeatedly fouling opposing teams during the group stage matches of the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in the UAE.
North Korea was handed 11 yellow and two red cards in the group stage, in which it lost all three of its games, scoring just one goal while giving up 14.
The AFC's Disciplinary and Ethics Committee on Sunday fined the North a combined $13,000 for red cards given to Jong Il-gwan of FC Luzern and Han Kwang-song of A.C. Perugia Calcio and also punished their country for breaching the yellow card limit for a single game.
The two players were fined $5,000 each. Han was sent off during the North's first game, a 4-0 loss to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 8, and Jong was ejected during the second game, a 6-0 thrashing by Qatar on Jan. 13.
Under the AFC's rules, North Korea was fined $3,000 for receiving six yellow cards and one red card in the Qatar game, exceeding the confederation's limit of five yellows.
[Photo: /EPA-Yonhap]
The Supreme Leader will not be pleased.
Mick Hartley 
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