K-League ‘replacement mistake’ growing waves..
“It is difficult to accept.” (Lee Jeong-min, Chairman of the Korea Football Association Referee Committee)
The repercussions of the ‘substitution error’ incident that occurred in the match between Jeonbuk Hyundai (4th place, 53 points) and Pohang Steelers (2nd place, 60 points) in professional soccer K-League 1 It’s getting bigger. All six referees in charge of the game at the time were suspended for the remainder of the season.
The Korea Football Association Referee Committee held a referee evaluation subcommittee at the Football Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 31st and addressed the violation of substitution procedures in the Jeonbuk-Pohang game on the 28th.
The committee held six people, including the referee, standby referee, first and second assistant referees, video assistant referee (VAR) referee, and assistant VAR referee, responsible for violating replacement procedures (Article 3, Paragraph 3 of the Game Rules) and assigned the remaining games of the K League in the 2023 season. It was decided to suspend allocation to other competitions, including the Korea Football Association FA Cup.
It was determined that the referee and standby referee were largely responsible for failing to implement the rule, and it was decided to refer the matter of demoting the referee by one level in relation to the registration of referees in K League 1 and K League 2 next year to the agenda.
Chairman Lee said, “The referee must thoroughly manage and supervise the procedures for entering the stadium due to player injuries, treatment, and player replacement,” and added, “The referee’s mistake occurred in a situation where the transportation of the injured player, treatment around the stadium, and player replacement occurred at the same time.” “It can be said to be a human mistake, but it is difficult to tolerate it in K-League 1, the highest level of Korean soccer,” he said.
At that time, Pohang requested a player replacement as defender Kim Yong-hwan was receiving treatment for an injury. However, the problem grew as attacker Kim In-seong’s uniform number (7) was written instead of Kim Yong-hwan’s uniform number (3).
The referee recognized that the injured player was being replaced and allowed Shin Kwang-hoon to enter while Kim In-seong did not leave the stadium. When a situation occurred where Kim In-seong and Shin Kwang-hoon played at the same time for about 4 minutes and 30 minutes, Jeonbuk requested that Pohang’s loss be forfeited (0–3) and the two players be posthumously sent off.
Jeonbuk’s claim is that since Shin Kwang-hoon entered the game while Kim In-sung did not leave the field, both players are ‘ineligible to participate in the game.’
The Korea Professional Football League held a match evaluation committee the day before and discussed Jeonbuk’s objection regarding the replacement of Pohang’s players, but was unable to reach a conclusion. The final decision will be made after hearing various opinions from the rewards and punishment committee. Pohang’s forfeit appears to be being approached cautiously as it could have an impact on the battle for rankings among the top K League 1 teams.
After raising an objection to the federation, the Jeonbuk club said, “This is a case that cannot be taken lightly as the player replacement procedure, which is the most basic and important principle in the game rules and regulations, is wrong,” and “An accurate decision is necessary for the status of the K-League.” .
