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Controversy over officiating 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—failed to take place once again.

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 charging toward the ball when he collided with head referee Kim Dae-yong and fell to the ground.

The subsequent counterattack by Jeonbuk led to an opening goal by Kim Jin-kyu.

Ulsan players protested, arguing that the goal should be canceled because they were deprived of a promising scoring opportunity and instead conceded a goal, but their plea was rejected.

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

While the laws of the game do not contain explicit regulations regarding collisions between a referee and a player, it is standard practice to stop play and restart with a dropped ball at the location where the incident occurred.

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

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A more serious issue is the lack of proper communication from the KFA regarding refereeing decisions. Following a series of SBS reports analyzing the surge in misjudgments in the K-League last year, the association promised referee reform and the restoration of trust, emphasizing the importance of 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.

While the Ulsan club has 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," adding that they would "discuss this matter tomorrow (July 14) and provide an answer."

(Video Editing: Lee Jae-sung, Graphics: Kim Min-young)