It is an ultimate challenge for sports leagues around the world - if games can only recommence behind closed doors, how can the atmosphere of the stadium be improved?

However, not many clubs will be rushing to follow the instance of this football club in South Korea. FC Seoul, one of the biggest football clubs in South Korea, had ‘sex dolls’ in the stands! Sounds bizarre?

2016 K League winners FC Seoul inadvertently used sex dolls rather than fashion mannequins to help fill empty stands this weekend. The club has apologised. Both the club and the supplier are pointing fingers at others. (It's not just COVID-19 you need to avoid catching!) #kleague pic.twitter.com/59rSU8XxYL

— Devon Rowcliffe (@WhoAteTheSquid) May 17, 2020

The Seoul-based football club claimed they were ‘premium mannequins’ rather than sex dolls but did confess they came from a dealer that makes sex toys.

FC Seoul played their first home match of the K League season on Sunday, and because of the coronavirus pandemic, no spectator was allowed. So just before the play, a company named Dalcom offered to fill some of the empty chairs and the club agreed. There were 30 mannequins which comprised of two males and 28 females.

However, fans watching the game online observed that some of the mannequins looked more like sex dolls and some were promoting X-rated websites and thus - leading to the club apologising on their social media handle. 

In a statement on Instagram, FC Seoul said, “We would like to apologise to the fans. We are deeply sorry about the mannequins that were seated during the May 17, 2020 match.”

“However, we would like to clarify that while these mannequins have been made to look and feel like real humans, they are not for sexual use — as confirmed by the manufacturer. We had them supplied by a company... which claimed they are clothing mannequins. We double- (and) triple-checked that they are not for sexual use”, the letter further stated.

It concluded, “Prior to supplying them to us, (the manufacture) had these mannequins returned from its streamer management label. In this process, they had been given names of the streamers. That is the only reason there is an association with the streamers. We failed to check up on this part and that is indeed our fault.”

(Insta link)

The K League was scheduled to start in February, but the global coronavirus crisis delayed the league. The country’s achievement in battle against the COVID-19 allowed football to restart sooner than almost everywhere else.

FOOTBALL LEAGUES AROUND THE WORLD

Football fans in Germany rejoiced as their home league the Bundesliga was resumed at the weekend. The spectators were not allowed to join the match in the stadium.

On the other side, the Premier League in England has a tentative return date of June 12, but rumours mill states that it will be preponed. France’s Ligue 1, have cancelled their season completely.