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South Korea soccer coach Robert Moreno next to ChatGPT logo
Most coaches use their introductory press conference to explain tactics, talk about culture, and say something vague about making the fans proud. Robert Moreno had to spend part of his first real day running South Korea’s soccer team explaining that ChatGPT did not secretly coach his previous team.
Moreno unveiled his first 30-man South Korea roster Monday ahead of friendlies against Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela and Uzbekistan, but questions quickly returned to allegations that followed him out of Russian club Sochi. The former Spain manager called the story “completely false” and told Star News that anyone spending 10 minutes examining what happened would see the claims had been distorted.
Robert Moreno Is Still Fighting The ChatGPT Coach Allegations
This is an extremely 2026 problem to inherit with a national team.
Moreno left Sochi in September 2025 after a poor start to the Russian Premier League season. Months later, Russian reports circulated claims from club officials that Moreno had leaned heavily on artificial intelligence during his tenure, including for match preparation, lineups and even recruitment decisions.
Moreno has repeatedly denied all of that.
He says he uses technology, video analysis and data extensively, which is hardly unusual for a modern soccer coach, but insists he never used ChatGPT or another AI tool to choose his lineup or prepare tactics. Moreno has said his limited use of ChatGPT at Sochi involved translation because he did not speak Russian.
He even published a lengthy timeline on his personal website earlier this year attempting to dismantle the entire story point by point.
Unfortunately, “coach accused of letting ChatGPT pick players” is the kind of headline the internet does not willingly return once it has acquired it. So, when Moreno arrived in South Korea, the controversy followed him through customs.
South Korea Has Slightly Bigger Problems To Solve
The AI questions are funny, but the actual job is not particularly easy.
South Korea hired Moreno on Sept. 1 as an interim manager through Nov. 27 after Hong Myung-bo resigned following a disastrous World Cup group-stage exit. Reuters reports that Moreno will coach six friendlies before the federation determines whether he should remain in charge for January’s Asian Cup.
His first roster includes 12 K League players along with familiar international stars such as Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae (Son remains captain).
Moreno’s first match comes Sept. 24 against Ecuador, followed four days later by Uruguay. Venezuela and Uzbekistan arrive in October, with two November opponents still being finalized.
Those matches will presumably provide considerably more useful information about whether Moreno can coach South Korea than a year-old argument about artificial intelligence.
Still, there is something incredible about the career arc. it.