Drone shot down in potential World Cup spying scandal as two men flee scene

Two men were seen fleeing the scene after a drone was shot down during South Korea’s most recent training session.

The Far East giants are looking to follow up their 2-1 win over Czechia on matchday one with another three points when they face co-hosts Mexico on Thursday.

Goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu saw the Taegeuk Warriors come from a goal down to claim all the spoils.

And reports from South Korea claim that a drone was spotted spying on the national team’s closed training session in Guadalajara ahead of the game against Mexico.

The drone in question was spotted by players and staff during the warm ups, and security were alerted immediately.

The national guard were then called out to deal with the device, which they promptly shot down shortly after their arrival.

And as police sought to retrieve the downed drone, they were beaten to the punch by a pair of individuals, believed to be the operators of the drone in question.

However, CCTV caught images of the suspects in question, who remain at large.

It’s not the first time South Korea have had issues with Mexico during the 2026 World Cup after reporters mocked captain Son Heung-min’s military service.

Son was exempt from military duties having won gold at the 2018 Asian Games.

The former Tottenham Hotspur man did, though, attend a three-week basic military training programme during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Reporters could be heard making disparaging remarks about Son’s military service, while the footage was subsequently shown in South Korea.

And Hong Myung-bo’s side decided to boycott media duties prior to the Mexico clash as a result, which was stated as such in a KFA statement: “The Korea Football Association expresses regret over the inappropriate remarks made by some media personnel during the national football team’s training at the Guadalajara base camp.

“With a sense of responsibility to represent South Korea on the ​global stage of the World Cup, the Taegeuk Warriors are doing their best to repay ‌the ⁠support and expectations of the people.

“However, the recent leak of inappropriate conversations between some media officials at a training site caused great shock and disappointment to the team.

 “We ask for more thoughtful consideration and a responsible attitude toward the national team and its players.

“Going forward, we will continue to prioritise the protection of the squad and strive to create a healthy environment for media activities.”

Another one?

Spying on training sessions has become a hot topic in recent weeks after Southampton were booted out of the Championship play-offs following ‘Spygate’.

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A Saints data analyst was caught filming Middlesbrough training sessions ahead of their semi-final meeting, which the south coast side went on to win 2-1 on aggregate.

Boro were reinstated to the play-off final following the findings by an independent panel, though they went on to lose 1-0 to Hull City at Wembley.