Celtic's pre-season plans are up in the air after Wolves and Roma pulled out of a glamour clash in Korea after a bust up with promoters.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were due to face the English Premier League outfit in Suwon on July 26. But Wolves have now withdrawn from the encounter as well as their friendly match with Roma with the Italian giants also pulling out of their South Korea trip. Now the Serie A side have withdrawn as well. Celtic will head to Japan to face Yokohama F Marinos and Gamba Osaka – but they are now in talks with the promoters over the proposed second leg of their Far East trip.
Record Sport understands there are no issues for the Hoops and they are now looking at contingency plans – with striker Oh Hyeon-gyu set for a Korean homecoming. Wolves – who have Korea star Hee Chan Hwang in their ranks – insisted they have pulled the plug over delays and problems over ticket sales.
A statement said: “The withdrawal from the scheduled matches, which were set to take place at the end of July, comes after numerous financial and logistical obligations were not met by the tour’s promoter, Stadium X/USG.
“After weeks of delays by the promotors and tickets not yet on sale for the matches, the difficult decision has been made to terminate the contract with the promoters and pull out of the tour.”
General manager for marketing and commercial growth Russell Jones said: "I feel incredibly disappointed that we’re not going to be able to fulfil the commitments that we made in South Korea this summer, not only for our partners and suppliers, but, of course for Hee Chan and all of our fans.
“We are absolutely gutted to not be going to Korea. We’re all devastated because we had so many different things planned for supporters that we’re now not going to be able to fulfil.
“To the supporters in Korea, we want reiterate to you that we are committed to the Korean market and we hope to find a way to demonstrate that to you, in spite of the disappointing news about the upcoming tour and matches. It’s not just Wolves who have been affected by this, it’s all three clubs that are part of this tour.
“We’ve not taken this decision lightly and have explored every avenue thoroughly in an attempt to not let our fans down, including numerous conversations with other local promoters.
“Of course, this decision is a big blow to the club from a commercial perspective, but I am fully aware of the most important reason for pre-season, which is the preparation for another important Premier League campaign.
“Because of this, we have to move on quickly from this disappointment. We have to adapt, and will find a European solution to ensure the best possible preparation.”
Jones admitted his disappointment for Hee Chan Hwang ahead of the return to his home land. He said: " Korea was an exciting proposition for us because of the impact Hee Chan has had on the club from a marketing perspective, but also because of a lot of the work we have done over the last 12 months and the growth we have seen amongst our fan base in Korea.”
Celtic have offered a response, a spokesperson telling The Sun: "We are aware of the statement from Wolves this morning in respect of our planned match in Korea next month. We are liaising with match organisers and will update our supporters as soon as possible."
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