SEOUL, Nov 2: South Korea captain Lee Woon-jae and three team-mates have been banned from the national side for one year after confessing to a late-night drinking session during the Asian Cup in Jakarta.

Goal-keeper Lee, Middlesbrough striker Lee Dong-guk, Kim Sang-sik and Woo Sungyong left the team base to go drinking after Korea’s shock 2-1 loss to Bahrain on July 15.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the episode had tarnished the reputation of Korean football.

“It is disappointing that the captain was behind this kind of conduct,” KFA technical committee chief Lee Kap-jin said on Friday. “As a member of the KFA’s board of directors, I regret to have to announce these decisions.” Captain Lee was also ordered to serve 80 hours of public service, while the three others will have to serve 40 hours.

Lee had said he wanted to give his team-mates a morale boost after the defeat to Bahrain. “We were too short-sighted, and we shouldn’t have done it.”—Reuters