The 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup was the 5th edition of this regional competition, the football championship of East Asia. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2012.[2]Mongolia were suspended from the EAFF and could not compete in any EAFF competition until March 2014,[3] whilst Australia accepted an invitation to take part.[1]
Preliminary round 1
The first round of the Preliminary Competition was hosted by Guam between 18–22 July 2012. The winner of the group advanced to the second round.
The second round of the preliminary competition was held in Hong Kong between 1 December and 9 December 2012. The winner of the group advanced to the final tournament.
At the final match between South Korea and Japan on 28 July, South Korean fans booed the start of the Japanese anthem and later upped the political sloganeering with a banner that covered most of the width of one end of the ground that read, in Korean, "The nation that forgets history has no future."(Korean: 역사를 잊은 민족에게 미래는 없다),[4] apparently aiming at the Japanese leaders' reluctance to admit to wrongdoings during its militaristic and colonial past, after they displayed huge pictures of Ahn Jung-geun, who assassinated the first Prime Minister of Japan and then-Japanese Resident-General of KoreaItō Hirobumi back in 1909, and Yi Sun-sin, a Korean naval commander who is famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty back in the 16th century.[5] The banner was not removed until Korea Football Association (KFA) directed supporters to do so after the first half of the match. After the banner was taken down, "Red Devils," a group of South Korean football supporters, refused to cheer on the national team in the second half. On its Facebook page, the Seoul sector of the Red Devils wrote that its members would not bang drums or chant songs for South Korea in protest of the decision by the KFA to remove the banner.[6]
Kuniya Daini, President of Japan Football Association, said "We ask the East Asian Football Federation to thoroughly investigate the matter and act in the appropriate fashion," and Japanese Chief Cabinet SecretaryYoshihide Suga said the incident was "extremely regrettable" and the Japanese government "will respond appropriately based on FIFA rules when the facts are revealed.", while KFA said "We are still investigating the matter. We have no official statement now".[7]
Japanese Sports Minister Hakubun Shimomura went further on Tuesday, saying the style of the banners called into question "the nature of the people" in South Korea.[8]
On 31 July, KFA issued a statement insisting that Japanese fans waving a large "rising sun" Japanese military flag had incited South Korean supporters. [citation needed]
Australia commitment to the ASEAN Football Federation is questioned due to its participation in this tournament while having not participated in a single edition of the AFF Championship, the top level competition in the sub-confederation Australia which later became a member of in 2013.[9]
Japan (1st title)
China
South Korea
Australia
