Seoul (AFP)

Tottenham's South Korean winger Son Heung-min said he was afraid of getting injured in the "very aggressive" match between Pyongyang and Korea on Tuesday when Fifa boss Gianni Infantino said to himself disappointed "with the lack of public in the stadium.

"It's a shame not to have won, but on the pitch it was so brutal that returning without injury is already a feat," Son Heung-min told reporters at Incheon airport near Seoul, before returning to his club.

"The North Koreans were really on edge, and they insulted us badly," he said.

For the vice president of the Korean football federation, Choi Young-il, it was even worse than that: "It was like a war, I have never seen such a level of aggression in a football match until 'until today".

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who was in Pyongyang on Tuesday for the North Korea-South Korea meeting, said he was "disappointed".

"I was eager to see a full stadium for this historic match but I was disappointed to see that there were no spectators in the stands," he said in a statement from Fifa.

The qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup, which ended in a draw (0-0), was held behind closed doors in Kim Il Sung stadium in the North Korean capital and was not broadcast. live on TV.

"We were surprised by this and by several other points, concerning in particular the live broadcast and the problems with visas and the foreign journalists", added the president of Fifa.

"For us, freedom of the press and expression is essential but on the other hand, it would be naïve to think that we can change the world in an instant," said Infantino.

There were no foreign supporters or journalists in the stadium to witness the clash between two nations that were technically still at war.

The only echo of the match came from the FIFA and the Asian Confederation (AFC) sites which were allowed to disclose a minimum amount of factual information.

Before flying to Pyongyang, the South Koreans had been asked to leave their cell phones at their embassy in China.

"Personally that did not bother me," said the star winger of Tottenham, "I liked it so I could sleep a lot," he added.

© 2019 AFP