# South Korean soccer team fills stands with sex dolls **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 21, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268 "2020-05-21T23:52:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/1 "2020-05-21T23:52:21Z")
In the category of “Who could have possibly thought this was a good idea?,” a South Korean soccer team, in a no-spectator match, [placed about two dozen sex dolls](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/world/asia/south-korea-sex-dolls-soccer.html) in the stands to make it look like fans were present. Even though the club claimed they thought they were just ordinary mannequins, they received a record fine of about $81,000. At least the dolls were wearing masks.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/2 "2020-05-21T23:59:40Z")
See, I’d have tried to make the manufacturer a sponsor of the team. And how small are the stands that 2 dozen mannequins changed things one way or the other? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/3 "2020-05-22T00:00:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > At least the dolls were wearing masks.🙂 Yes, but the soccer team might have noticed something unusual if they had not been wearing masks. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/4 "2020-05-22T00:15:11Z")
This sounds like a case of “It’s not scandalous unless you \*\*\*make \*\*\*it scandalous.” Had everyone involved just kept their mouths shut, nobody would have suspected that they weren’t just ordinary mannequins. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/5 "2020-05-22T00:16:25Z")
This sounds like a case of “It’s not scandalous unless you \*\*\*make \*\*\*it scandalous.” Had everyone involved just kept their mouths shut, nobody would have suspected that they weren’t just ordinary mannequins. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/6 "2020-05-22T04:54:38Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > This sounds like a case of “It’s not scandalous unless you \*\*\*make \*\*\*it scandalous.” > > Had everyone involved just kept their mouths shut, nobody would have suspected that they weren’t just ordinary mannequins. Well, no. The reason it came out was that fans watching the game on TV noticed that 1) almost all the mannequins were female; 2) they were “strikingly buxom”; and 3) some of the dolls were holding signs for a company that makes sex dolls and had logos for such a company on their clothes. [More photos here from CNN.](https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/21/football/south-korea-sex-dolls-fine-scli-intl/index.html) According to an article in a Panamanian paper, the sex-doll company first offered the league the use of its products for free, and then went to the club that ended up using them. It’s not clear at what level the decision was made to use them, but it’s clear that _somebody_ along the chain of command had to have known what they were. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/7 "2020-05-22T09:00:51Z")
I loved the team’s excuse. They tried to blame it on their mannequin supplier. Yeah, right. There’s no way that’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/8 "2020-05-22T13:51:20Z")
OK, I can definitely see that this is a funny story, but what’s the scandal? I mean, they were clothed, right? And not being used for their primary purpose at the time? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/9 "2020-05-22T15:03:50Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Yes, but the soccer team might have noticed something unusual if they had not been wearing masks. I’m not sure if I’m being whooshed here, but they weren’t trying to pretend the figures were real people. The dolls were put in the stands to make things look more “festive.” The audience would have noticed that they didn’t move and were holding their arms up for the entire match anyway. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/10 "2020-05-22T15:05:59Z")
Score the winning goal and get your pick from the audience! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/11 "2020-05-22T15:52:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, I can definitely see that this is a funny story, but what’s the scandal? I mean, they were clothed, right? And not being used for their primary purpose at the time? The story came to attention because the team was being ridiculed on social media for it, and the league fined the team for bringing disrespect to the league. And as mentioned the dolls were holding signs advertising a sex toy/adult product company. So they were essentially an ad for sex products on national TV, which I imagine the league prohibits. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/12 "2020-05-22T16:32:41Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Yes, but the soccer team might have noticed something unusual if they had not been wearing masks. They’re all shouting, “Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaal”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/13 "2020-05-22T20:33:21Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’m not sure if I’m being whooshed here, but they weren’t trying to pretend the figures were real people. The dolls were put in the stands to make things look more “festive.” The audience would have noticed that they didn’t move and were holding their arms up for the entire match anyway. Rest assured you were being whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/14 "2020-05-23T02:41:12Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Rest assured you were being whooshed. However, if you looked at the photograph, one of the dolls had its mouth exposed over the mask, and didn’t look unusual. ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/15 "2020-05-23T06:01:12Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > This sounds like a case of “It’s not scandalous unless you \*\*\*make \*\*\*it scandalous.” > > Had everyone involved just kept their mouths shut, nobody would have suspected that they weren’t just ordinary mannequins. This. I don’t see why there is any fuss about this at all even knowing they are sex dolls, it’s such a trivial matter that I can’t see how it ever made the news, it must have been an extremely slow news day in Korea ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/16 "2020-05-23T13:29:57Z")
OK, I can see how the signs would be a problem, but that’d be a problem even if they were being held by ordinary anatomically-incorrect department-store mannequins. The fact that the mannequins themselves had other uses still seems irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/17 "2020-05-24T16:29:30Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > This. > > I don’t see why there is any fuss about this at all even knowing they are sex dolls, it’s such a trivial matter that I can’t see how it ever made the news, it must have been an extremely slow news day in Korea > [@Chronos](#): > > OK, I can see how the signs would be a problem, but that’d be a problem even if they were being held by ordinary anatomically-incorrect department-store mannequins. The fact that the mannequins themselves had other uses still seems irrelevant. Seriously?:dubious: Whether or not something makes the news isn’t based on whether it’s important, it’s based on whether it’s interesting enough that people will read it. It’s interesting because: 1) It’s about sex, which always sells, and 2) It’s bizarre and unusual. Lots of no-spectator sports events have been using mannequins or cutouts to produce the impression that people are in the stands, so this tactic is not unusual now. But using sex dolls introduces an element of WTF; I doubt that no one has seen this before. And that’s why the media have reported it. And of course it even worked on you guys. I suspect you wouldn’t have opened the thread if the headline had merely been “South Korean soccer team receives record fine.” You opened it because it had “sex dolls” in the title. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/18 "2020-05-24T18:22:12Z")
I mean, it’s relevant for purposes of making it a news story. I just don’t see how it’s relevant for fining the team or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korean-soccer-team-fills-stands-with-sex-dolls/854268/19 "2020-05-24T19:03:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I mean, it’s relevant for purposes of making it a news story. I just don’t see how it’s relevant for fining the team or whatever. Again, seriously? Even in and of themselves the dolls were publicizing a sex product on TV. Their nature is evident even without the signs. They look much more realistic than normal mannequins used in clothing stores. For example, [here are normal mannequins](https://fansrule.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/taiwan-baseball-robot-fans.png?w=1200&h=627&crop=1) being used for the same purpose by a [Taiwan baseball league.](https://www.bardown.com/polopoly_fs/1.1465886!/fileimage/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/h-t-twitter-hum-bolega.png) Now, you may not be aware of [what a sex doll](https://www.deccanherald.com/sites/dh/files/article_images/2019/08/02/file6wolaj8xaqe1lx536hwh-1564742211.jpg) looks like, but enough people do that they are going to notice it. I’m sure the team would have been fined if they had regular mannequins waving dildos around too.