'Ronaldo No-Show' Police Investigation Temporarily Suspended... "Reinvestigation if Italian Judicial Authorities Cooperate"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The police investigating the so-called 'Ronaldo No-Show' incident, in which global soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) did not participate in a friendly match with a Korean professional soccer team, have decided not to make a judgment on criminal charges and have referred the case to the prosecution.

On the 20th, the Seoul Suseo Police Station announced that it had sent the friendly match organizer The Festa, Juventus, and Ronaldo, who were accused of fraud and other charges, to the prosecution on the 31st of last month without expressing an opinion on indictment or non-indictment.

However, the police judged that The Festa's advertisement of an overseas sports betting company on the A-board around the ground during the match violated the National Sports Promotion Act and referred the case to the prosecution with an indictment opinion. Under current law, only Sports Toto and the official internet sales site Betman are recognized as legal sports gambling.

The police also judged that the Korea Professional Football League and ticket sales agency Ticketlink, who were co-accused, did not conspire knowing that Ronaldo would not participate in the match, and referred them to the prosecution with a non-indictment opinion.

Earlier this year, the police requested investigative cooperation from the Italian judicial authorities, where Juventus, Ronaldo's team, is located, through international criminal judicial cooperation procedures. However, as related materials were not received for over half a year and the conclusion of the case was delayed, it is reported that only the charges related to the violation of the National Sports Promotion Act, which had already been investigated, were sent first. A police official said, "Once we receive the related materials from the Italian judicial authorities, we plan to resume the investigation by retrieving the materials already sent to the prosecution."

Ronaldo was scheduled to play in a friendly match between the K League All-Star team and Juventus held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on July 26 last year but did not participate, causing controversy. Subsequently, a lawyer who is a former prosecutor filed a complaint with the police accusing The Festa, Juventus, and Ronaldo of fraud. The police have been conducting investigations, including banning The Festa officials from leaving the country and searching their offices.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.