Former Manchester United player Park Ji-Sung has asked supporters to stop singing a song about him that contains racist stereotypes about Korea, ESPN reports.
The song Park is referencing was created by Manchester United fans to praise him when he played for United from 2005 to 2012. However, the midfielder told the UTD Podcast Sunday that the lyrics suggesting Korean people eating dog meat makes him uncomfortable.
Park initially believed he had to accept the chant because the culture in Britain was different, The New York Times reports. He changed his mind this August when he heard fans sing the song as Hwang Hee-chan, a South Korean, made his debut for the Wolverhampton Wanderers in a game against Manchester United. He said he was sorry Hwang had to hear the song.
“I should probably speak out more loud this time,” Park told the UTD Podcast, “I have to educate for the fans to stop that word, which is these days usually a racial insult to the Korean people.”
He asked the fans to stop singing those lyrics.
“I really request the fans to stop singing that word,” he said on the podcast. “It causes discomfort to Korean people when they hear that song. It’s time to stop.”
Manchester United released an official statement in support of Park and urged fans to stop singing the song, ESPN reports.
“Manchester United fully supports Ji-sung’s comments and urges fans to respect his wishes,” the statement read.
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