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Son Heung-min has filed a complaint to South Korean police alleging he was the victim of a blackmail attempt, his agency said, after media reports that a woman had threatened the Tottenham captain with a false pregnancy claim.
“The police are currently investigating, so we will let you know the results as soon as they are available,” his agency, Son & Football Limited, said. “We’d like to tell you that Son Heung-min is clearly the victim of this incident.”
Police had arrested a woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s, and were investigating allegations they tried to extort money from Son with the fake pregnancy claim, local media reported, citing police.
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The Seoul Gangnam police station did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports. Son, 32 is hugely popular in South Korea, not only for his success on the pitch in the Premier League but also for his dedication to the country’s national team as their captain.
Son returned as a substitute on Sunday from a month’s layoff with a foot problem and hopes to play a part in Wednesday’s Europa League final against Manchester United, unlike midfielder Dejan Kulusevski who will miss the match and maybe the start of next season.
An innocuous challenge with Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi on Sunday forced Kulusevski off and subsequent scans confirmed Tottenham’s worst fears, with the Sweden playmaker set for “months” on the sideline.
“Yeah, gutted for Deki,” Ange Postecoglou said ahead of Friday’s trip to Aston Villa. “Disappointing news. Initially we thought it wasn’t too serious. The medical team were worried structurally about how the knee was but it blew up the day after and we knew there was an issue there.
“He has had surgery and it will put him out for at least a few months. I have only got basic information at the moment in terms of recovery, but it will certainly put him out for a while.”
With James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall recently consigned to the treatment table, Kulusevski would have been Spurs’ chief creative force against Manchester United.
“No, it wouldn’t be anywhere near 12 months, but again me putting a timeframe on wouldn’t be right because he only had the surgery yesterday,” Postecoglou explained. “It’s fair to say months, but how many months I wouldn’t speculate at the moment.”
Postecoglou played down the prospect of Bergvall being able to recover from an ankle injury for the Europa League final before he turned his focus to the “balancing act” of the match at Villa Park.
Villa are in the hunt for a top-five finish and Champions League qualification.
“We are certainly going to go out there and try to win the game,” Postecoglou insisted. “I’m not sure about the integrity. There have been times this year when we have had to field weakened teams because of injury. Does that affect the integrity?
“People are thinking there is some sort of competitive balance that exists that doesn’t exist over the course of the season. I would be very surprised if people were questioning our integrity to try to win a game tomorrow.”
