Hwang Ui-jo scored the winning goal in the 17th round match against Queens Park Rangers (OPR) in the 17th round of the 2023-2024 Championship (second division) at Carrow Road, Norfolk, England, on the 26th. The team won 1-0.
Hwang Ui-jo's goal came in the 21st minute of the first half. After taking over the long pass, he calmly shot after seeing the goalkeeper come out and scored.
Hwang Ui-jo, who wore a Norwich City uniform in September, saw his second goal in the league (one assist) in 12 games.
"Hwang Ui-jo's head was with us"
Hwang Ui-jo, who played despite the controversy, scored a goal.
This is the second goal since entering Norwich. Hwang Ui-jo scored against Sunderland last time. In terms of attack points, there are three (two goals and one assist) in the match against Birmingham City.
Norwich City in crisis and Wagner, who saved his managerial position, were busy praising Hwang Ui-jo. Planet Football said on the 26th, "Coach Wagner has praised Hwang Ui-jo, who has been the subject of privacy suspicions in his home country."
Wagner said, "It wasn't easy for him, but his head was with us. He proved how good a soccer player he is, adding, "Hwang Ui-jo has excellent skills and is a professional." In addition, he understands the game well. He took his goal really well and proved to us that he could play 70 minutes or so. "It was more time than I expected after returning from the A match," he said with joy.
Before the game, Wagner said he would send Hwang Ui-jo to the game even though he was aware of the fact that he was investigated by the police. However, he said he would trust the judgment of the team's leadership once.
When asked about Hwang Ui-jo's situation at a pre-QPR press conference earlier, Wagner said, "I don't have enough information to know the whole thing about what happened in Korea," adding, "Ben Napper will deal with Hwang Ui-jo and his agent."
"It's in the stadium that I can judge and control. Hwang Ui-jo will be with us. In the end, I will decide whether he will step up at the end, and I don't have all the information I need now.
He could be banned if the team's frontrunners, such as general manager Napper, give an appropriate opinion, but it was interpreted that he would put him in the game right now.
In the end, Wagner put Hwang Ui-jo at the forefront of the QPR match and proved that his faith was at least right on the soccer field with the winning shot.
Controversy continues over illegal filming.
Hwang Ui-jo, who played in the second Group C match of the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup Asian qualifying round against China, became controversial.
The case dates back to the end of June. Hwang Ui-jo became controversial in June after photos and videos of her and women's personal lives were circulated on social media from A, who claimed to be her ex-lover. As the controversy grew, the SNS post was immediately deleted, but Hwang Ui-jo's side filed a complaint against A, who posted a privacy revelation at Seongdong Police Station in Seoul through a legal representative, on charges of violating the Information and Communication Network Act (defamation of false facts) and threatening.
At that time, Hwang Ui-jo claimed that the video was inside a mobile phone stolen when he rented Olympiacos in the Greek first division last year, and that it was not illegally filmed.
Since then, it has been quiet for about five months, but it has reignited again after the police requested an arrest warrant for A and on the 17th, it was revealed that Hwang Ui-jo was investigated as a suspect. However, in the process, A was found to be Hwang Ui-jo's sister-in-law, which shocked him.
However, the case entered a new phase on the 21st when Hwang's ex-lover sued Hwang through a legal representative, claiming, "I had dated Hwang, but I had never agreed to shoot a sensitive video at that time or after, and I have been asking him to delete it," and "Hwang lied through the media that he filmed it under agreement with his ex-lover instead of looking back and reflecting on his wrongdoings, leaving irreversible wounds and trauma to the victim."
In such a situation, it was controversial as it was replaced in the 27th minute of the second half in the away match against China in the second Asian qualifying round on the 21st, the same day that the former lover claimed to be the victim.
Jurgen Klinsmann, who leads the national team, stressed that Hwang Ui-jo's participation is justified, citing that no ruling has been made yet.
Director Klinsmann, "Hwang Ui-jo's participation is justified."
Coach Klinsmann also expressed his trust in Hwang Ui-jo on two occasions immediately after the match against China and after returning to Korea.
"Hwang Ui-jo is our player," Klinsmann said. This is because the charges have not yet been proven or the charges have not been made. I've been through a lot in my soccer life for 40 years now. There was speculation every time, so I want to say that he is our player until the allegations come out clearly," he said.
Then he is a good player. I also want to say that he is a player with a lot of things, and we have to prepare for the Asian Cup, but I hope he will score a lot in the preparation process to the Asian Cup and play a big role in the national team while maintaining his best condition."
Since then, the Norwich City club has drawn attention by informing them that they are aware of Hwang Ui-jo's case, but they have decided to use it in the game and have been named in the starting lineup.
After completing the national team's schedule, Hwang Ui-jo returned to his team Norwich, and the Norwich City club eventually put Hwang Ui-jo in and scored the winning goal. In particular, Hwang Ui-jo performed a "shhh" ceremony like Son Heung-min. He didn't look as confident as his friend of the same age, but he closed his eyes and brought his index finger to his mouth.
Obviously the controversy has not subsided. Already, he left for England immediately after the A-match in China. Due to the concern of further investigation, there was no charter flight that the overseas players had prepared separately from each other, and there was no direct flight to the UK from Shenzhen, so they moved to Guangzhou. In any case, the controversy over Hwang Ui-jo, who showed his ability, is still growing.
