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Cheeky monKI

By ROGER HANNAH

Published: Today

KI SUNG-YUENG has tried to escape a bitter international feud by accusing Scottish fans of racism.

Celtic star Ki sparked fury by imitating a monkey when he scored for South Korea against Japan in the Asian Cup this week.

The midfielder, who pulled a face and scratched - a traditional insult from Koreans to Japanese - defended his antics by claiming he was attacking Scots fans who"d made monkey noises at him.

But leading anti-racism crusaders last night insisted his defence just "doesn"t ring true".

A diplomatic row erupted after Ki"s celebration during the semi-final defeat in Qatar. The Hoops ace initially claimed he"d been enraged by flag-waving Japanese fans.

They were waving Rising Sun ensigns - the flag of Imperial Japan during World War Two.

The flags are deeply offensive in Korea, where they"re regarded as a symbol of Japanese militarism and imperialism.

Ki explained: "The sight of those flags in the stand broke my heart. Sometimes being Korean is more important than being a football player."

But he later changed his story and insisted he was having a pop at SPL supporters.

The 21-year-old said: "That performance was not directed at Japanese people. When I play at Celtic, our opponents" fans call me a monkey and the celebration was towards people who make such racist remarks."

St Johnstone launched a probe into "racist noises" directed towards Ki in a league game at McDiarmid Park last year.

Team mate Cha Du-Ri said at the time: "When Ki had the ball, two supporters jumped up and started making monkey noises in unison. I played for eight years in Germany and I have never seen anything like that.

"The incident is shameful and I feel angry about it. I told the coach."

Ki has escaped punishment from FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation after giving his fresh explanation.

A South Korea FA spokesman said: "The people who made noises like the sound of the monkeys in Scotland when he played away games, that is something he wanted to highlight.

"Even though they call him a monkey as an Asian, he wanted to show how strong they are in Asia. That was the main intention."

But Show Racism the Red Card chief executive Ged Grebby remained sceptical about the explanation from Ki.

He said: "It doesn"t ring true to me that that"s what it was about.

"My understanding is that he has done it to offend the Japanese and then it has caused a controversy."

Ki and Cha are due back at Celtic next week after South Korea"s exit in a dramatic penalty shootout.