While the K League’s turnstiles clamored — at least, figuratively — with over 3 million spectators flocking to stadiums up and down the country, so, too, have complaints over a string of controversial refereeing decisions, leading to growing mistrust, with some calling it “an era of distrust in the K League.”
The situation escalated to the point where Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors manager Gus Poyet even took to social media to publicly criticize a call.
On Oct. 3, Jeonbuk’s Jeon Jin-woo was tripped in the penalty area by a Jeju United player, but the referee not only failed to award a penalty kick — he also chose not to consult the video assistant referee (VAR) system.
After the match, Poyet initially declined to comment, saying there was “nothing to say.” But later, he posted online: “Not penalty, not VAR, not words.”
Despite the Korea Football Association’s (KFA) referee committee later acknowledging the call was a mistake, Poyet was fined 3 million won ($2,090) for his post.
Under football regulations, players and coaches who make negative remarks about officiating during interviews or on social media face suspension or fines. However, attempts to silence aired grievances have reportedly extended to broadcast commentators as well.
A producer from one league broadcaster said, “We ask that on-site broadcast teams refrain from commenting on referee decisions during K League broadcasts,” according to KakaoTalk messages obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo from a chat room that included K League broadcasters, including commentators and producers.
“While referee operations fall under the KFA, remarks made during broadcasts can easily lead to misunderstandings,” the producer in the chat room said.
The directive to commentators — who are expected to provide objective explanations to viewers — not to speak on refereeing decisions has been criticized as a form of gagging.
In response to a related inquiry by Rep. Kim Seung-su of the People Power Party, the Korea Professional Football League admitted the comment was real, stating, “We can confirm that one such request was made this year asking that commentators be cautious when making personal assessments of officiating.”
Still, the league offered an explanation that did little to quiet concerns: “Commentators’ subjective and immediate evaluations can be inaccurate and may upset fans of one team. The notice was merely asking them to avoid excessive remarks.”
Since 2020, K League referees have been managed not by the professional league but by the KFA’s referee committee. The professional league is an affiliate of the KFA.
Because Sky Sports — a subsidiary operated with investment from the league — issued the request to broadcasters, there has been some interpretation of the remark as a directive from the league itself.
“If even the people who can speak on these issues are being silenced, who’s left to say anything?” said one commentator, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It seems like more effort is going into silencing criticism than improving refereeing standards.”
When asked whether the number of comments on officiating had actually decreased, the league said, “It is difficult to verify with objective data.”
So far this season, there have been 79 controversial calls in the K League, including an offside dispute in a K League 2 match between the Jeonnam Dragons and Cheonan City in August. Over the past five years, 14 formal complaints about refereeing decisions have been submitted via the government-run e-People portal to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.
This means nearly every round has seen an officiating controversy. Referee suspensions are not made public, and there have been frequent cases of referees quietly returning after missing only a few matches.
“Even when reviewing the match later to remove any emotional bias, there are times when you just think, ‘This call was really too much,'” said one club spokesperson.
Regarding the referee in the Jeonbuk-Jeju match at the beginning of October — who had already faced accusations of being biased against certain teams but was still assigned without any apparent disciplinary action — the KFA said, “Referee assignments are first automated by a computerized system, and then finalized by the referee assignment subcommittee, so no individual can make assignments unilaterally.”
Beyond his officiating, the referee is the subject of questions over his position as a director at a company that operates the K League’s official app and the KFA’s youth skills certification program.
“The referee in question is not involved in the company’s operations and does not receive a salary from them,” the KFA said in regard to the issue. “As a referee registered with the KFA but not an employee, he is not subject to the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act.”
“A company with a sitting K League referee as an executive could be seen as having favorable access to K League clubs, which raises conflict of interest concerns,” Rep. Kim said in response. “The KFA may say it’s not an issue, but if questionable calls continue, suspicions will only grow.”
Kim, who summoned referee committee chair Moon Jin-hee as a witness to the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit on Monday, said, “With controversies over officiating showing no sign of ending, I intend to question Moon directly about the various allegations surrounding referee conduct.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK LIN [[email protected]]
