K-League leaders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors came from behind to beat 2004 and 2005 champion Al-Ittihad 3-2 in the AFC Champions League semifinal at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah Wednesday. Meanwhile, Asian football suffered one of its darkest days Wednesday as the other semifinal in Suwon, South Korea, erupted in violence and a major match-fixing scandal was blamed for a tragic apparent suicide. The semifinal between Suwon Bluewings and Qatar's Al-Sadd was temporarily halted as both teams traded punches in an ugly all-in brawl. Al-Sadd won the match 2-0. In Jeddah, Jeonbuk took the lead in the first minute through Eninho before the home side levelled four minutes later through Naif Hazazi's fine header. Hazizi gave the Saudis the lead in the 17th minute with a drive from inside the box. Jeonbuk hit back 11 minutes into the second period when Al-Ittihad failed to clear a corner and Son Seng-jun lashed the ball into the roof of the net. Cho Sung-hwan then headed in the winner for the Koreans in the 75th minute. The return legs take place next Wednesday. A tepid encounter at South Korea's Suwon World Cup Stadium exploded late in the second half after Al-Sadd's Mamadou Niang raced through for his breakaway second goal while much of Suwon's team were tending to an injured player. A pushing and shoving match sparked by a fan invading the pitch deteriorated into chaotic scenes as players and staff were drawn into fighting which marred one of Asia's biggest club games. Al-Sadd's Kader Keita and Suwon player Stevica Ristic were both sent off as order was finally restored and shortly afterwards, goal-scorer Niang became the third player expelled for a second yellow card for kicking the ball away. Boos rang out around the stadium as the match finally ended after 10 minutes of injury time, with Suwon facing an uphill battle against the Qatari team in next week's second leg in Doha. Hours earlier, former Sangju Sangmu Phoenix coach Lee Soo-Cheol was found hanging in his apartment south of Seoul, weeks after being sentenced in charges related to a fixing scandal that has rocked South Korea's K-League. Lee, 45, was sentenced to two years in prison with three years of probation last month on charges of blackmailing the parents of a player implicated in match rigging to take a bribe. “No suicide note was found, but his family members said he has been distressed in recent months by the match-rigging scandal,” an unnamed investigator told Yonhap news agency.
