Inconsistent Officiating and Broken Promises of Transparency

[Anchor]

Controversy over refereeing decisions during last weekend's K League "Hyundai Derby" is heating up. Critics point to a lack of consistency in how the head referee handled collisions with players. Furthermore, the "Monday Briefing"—a promise made by the Korea Football Association (KFA) to explain controversial calls—did not take place this time either.

Reporter Lee Jeong-Chan has the story.

[Reporter]

In the 30th minute of the first half, with the score tied at 0-0, Ulsan's Bojanic was attacking when he collided with head referee Kim Dae-yong and fell to the ground.

The ensuing counterattack by Jeonbuk resulted in the opening goal by Kim Jin-kyu.

Ulsan players argued that the goal should be canceled, claiming they lost a promising scoring opportunity and instead conceded a goal, but their protest was not accepted.

However, late in the match, when the referee collided with an Ulsan player again, he blew the whistle to stop play, sparking controversy over his consistency.

While the laws of the game do not contain a specific written rule regarding collisions between a referee and a player, it is standard practice to stop the game and restart with a dropped ball from the location of the incident.

Coincidentally, in the North and Central America World Cup quarterfinal match between Spain and Belgium held on the same day, the referee immediately stopped the game when his path overlapped with a player.

A more serious issue is that the KFA's communication regarding refereeing decisions is not functioning properly.

Following a series of SBS reports analyzing the surge in misjudgments in the K League last year, the KFA promised referee reform and the restoration of trust, emphasizing better communication.

[Lee Yong-soo / Vice President of the Korea Football Association: We are preparing a 'Monday Briefing' where we can immediately explain and communicate when major issues arise on the day after a match.]

Although several controversies over misjudgments have erupted this year, the promised Monday Briefing has not been held even once.

With Ulsan FC having sent an official letter requesting an explanation, the KFA responded to inquiries from SBS by stating, "We were unable to hold the Monday Briefing due to preparations for a hearing," and added, "We will provide an answer after discussing this matter today (July 14)."

(Video Editing: Lee Jae-sung, Graphics: Kim Min-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.