Coronavirus in sport: FC Seoul fined by K League for sex doll fans

Bengaluru, May 21: K League club FC Seoul have been issued with a £66,000 fine after a mix-up led them to use sex dolls to fill the space in their empty stadium.

The club mistakenly used the mannequins to fill seats during Sunday's (May 17) 1-0 win over Gwangju in K League, which has returned behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Seoul apologised for what they labelled "an inexcusable mistake".

FC Seoul to be docked points and fined for placing sex dolls in the stands

Explaining the error, which saw the mannequins supposedly hold up advertising signs for adult streaming sites, the club said the faux pas was down to a mix-up with the manufacturer.

Announcing the sanction in a statement, the K League said: "The disciplinary committee decided to take heavy disciplinary action considering the graveness of the incident, caused by the 'real doll', that has greatly insulted and hurt female and family fans and to prevent similar incidents going forward."

Gwangju fell to their second consecutive K League 1 defeat, registering just one shot on target as FC Seoul ran out 1-0 winners thanks to Han Chan-Hee's 65th-minute strike in the match, which will now be remembered for all wrong reasons.

The K League which was one of the first leagues to resume all over the world following the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is using strict guidelines to prevent the spread of virus.

K League kicks off without fans

The K League is the Asian Football Confederation's oldest professional league, dating back to 1983, and teams will play 27 matches this season, down from 38 due to the delay caused by the coronavirus.

As part of post COVID-19 measures, many restrictions are put in place in the stadiums, most of whom have capacities of over 40,000. Players will not shake hands with each other, and spitting and conversations at close quarters on the field are prohibited with the K League ready to impose sanctions on repeat offenders.