On September 6th Syria play against South Korea in a World Cup qualifier. Syria, the home team, are hosting the match in Macau, 7500kms from Damascus. It was meant to be played in Lebanon but the Syrian FA requested that it be moved due to security fears. It is now more of a home match for South Korea as it is now only 2100kms from Seoul. The Koreans are happy as they don't have to travel too far after a home match against China 5 days earlier. They also don't have to deal with a 6 hour time difference. It is now only 1.
However, in a peculiar twist that shows this change doesn't suit everybody, the Macau Daily Times reports that Korean striker Suk Hyun-ju has been dropped for the match. The reason given is that he needs time to settle at his new club, Trabsonspor, and this is a big distance to travel for him. I cannot find any news as to whether he is playing the home match against China. Seoul is also pretty far from Turkey. And so is China, for the return match. Maybe he'll only play the Middle Eastern teams. Or maybe he's just not good enough and this is a good excuse.
But the travel time of one Korean player is not the real story here. Syria travelling 7500kms to play a home match is. Damascus is out of the question and now even Beirut. Be not surprised if they are playing their home matches in Moscow soon.
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