▲ Busan forward Christian.
Busan IPark, a professional football club in K League 2 that has slipped from the title race down to sixth place, has faced a fresh crisis after star forward Christian (26, full name Christian Renato) was caught driving under the influence.
Busan announced through its official social media channels on the 8th, "We have confirmed that Christian was caught for drunk driving on the 7th."
The club stated, "Upon learning of the incident the same day, the club immediately held an emergency squad management committee meeting to exclude Christian from training and all team activities, and reported the matter to the K League."
Busan added, "Based on the confirmed facts and investigation results, we will take strict follow-up measures in accordance with relevant regulations. We will also re-examine and strengthen our squad management and education systems to do our utmost to prevent such incidents from recurring."
The Brazilian striker, who joined Busan ahead of this season, has recorded 8 goals and 4 assists in 24 K League 2 matches.
He leads the team in both goals and attacking points.
Busan, which dreamed of promotion to K League 1 while leading the league until July, has fallen to sixth place amid a slump of eight consecutive matches without a win (2 draws and 6 losses).
With Christian facing inevitable heavy disciplinary action from the K League, such as a suspension, the team has suffered a major blow to its ranking battle for the remainder of the season.
(Photo provided by Korea Professional Football League, Yonhap News)
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