In his 1965 song Draft Dodger Rag, Phil Ochs detailed the occasionally ludicrous lengths some young American men went to avoid conscription to the military. While he listed ruptured spleens, poor eyesight and flat feet as more mundane ailments, mentions of bone spurs (Donald J Trump), conscientious objecting (Muhammad Ali) and 30-day hygiene protests (Ted Nugent) were all conspicuous by their absence from the protest singer’s lyrics. Ochs almost certainly had no idea that the best way to avoid the draft in South Korea is to be really good at sport.
Monday’s Football Daily revealed that mere seconds after captaining his country to gold at the Asian Games, Lee Gi-hyuk was overcome with an ill-advised urge to publicly brag how victory meant he could not be drafted for military service. The South Korea skipper was joined in his tone-deaf celebrations by teammates Yang Min-hyuk (of Tottenham) and Park Seung-soo (of Newcastle). Their exemption came on the back of a government promise offering any podium-toppers from South Korea a free pass from their 18 to 21 months of obligatory service to be conducted before they turn 35.
The subsequent public outcry was deafening, no doubt prompted by the vast majority of able-bodied South Koreans who don’t get so lucky, as well as South Koreans who view conscription as a duty to be honoured, rather than a hardship to avoid at any cost. It seems South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence was already reviewing plans to completely abolish special sports exemptions and his post-match braying is likely to accelerate the process, making him as popular as a rattlesnake buried in a game of lucky dip. Given their high profiles and ill-advised boasting, Football Daily suspects these recruits can look forward to no end of barked orders, miles of marching on the drill square and an unnaturally high allocation of cleaning duties in the latrine.
From “the new Toni Kroos” to the USA USA USA’s next big hope, it’s the 2026 global edition with 60 of the best young players born in … yikes, 2009. And if you missed the Premier League version, catch it here. A busy night ahead … join Scott Murray from 7.45pm (all times BST) for hot minute-by-minute updates from England 3-1 Czechia, while Simon Burnton will be on deck with clockwatch coverage of the rest of the Nations League action.
Then at midnight, join our colleagues across the pond for Lionel Messi 5-0 Benin, plus USA USA USA 3-2 Canada from 1am. They don’t just go tried and tested. They might listen to a 29-year-old who’s potentially retiring.
Brighton, in my opinion, are the most forward-thinking club in the world” – Jason McCarthy, who thought he might even end up becoming a pastor, on staying in the game and calling time on his playing career early to coach with the Seagulls. I see Wycombe’s Carl Simon was voted the Women’s National League Division One manager of the month. He probably thinks this award is about him” – James Vortkamp-Tong.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
