Ulsan’s Lee Kyu-sung’s foul controversy is not going away anytime soon.
On December 12, Ulsan midfielder Lee Kyu-sung was caught on video striking Incheon’s Moon Ji-hwan with his right arm during the 22nd round of the K League 1 match between Incheon and Ulsan, sparking controversy among soccer fans.
Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the Korean Football Association asked the refereeing committee of the Korea Football Association to review the incident immediately after the 22nd round.
However, the referee committee ruled that Lee’s behavior was not an ex post facto disciplinary action. They concluded that Lee Kyu-sung’s action was a ‘push’ on Moon Ji-hwan, not a punch.
However, after the referee’s explanation of “pushing”, soccer fans’ doubts and anger only increased.
The majority view is that Lee Kyu-sung clearly swung his right arm, but how can it be considered a shove when it was captured in many on-site videos from fans as well as the broadcast?
However, the association’s stance was firm.
In a call with KBS, Lee Jung-min, head of the KFA’s refereeing committee, elaborated on the reasoning behind the decision, saying that if the same behavior is repeated in future league matches, it will be ruled as pushing.
“We concluded that Lee Kyu-sung’s act was a shove. (Will the same scene be ruled as a shove in the future?) Yes, we will do that, because that’s the trend we’re doing. The evaluation subcommittee of nine referees, including myself, decided that it should be understood as ‘under-standing football’ and that there was no intention to harm the opponent.”
Lee emphasized “understanding football” throughout the conversation.
What may look like a sending off to the fans may not be, but the referee must consider the entire context of the game and weigh up all the conditions that warrant a sending off. FIFA is also emphasizing under-standing football to referees around the world, he added.
“In order to issue a red card, the referee has to take into account all the circumstances: the point of contact, whether there was an impact, whether there was excessive force, whether there was brutality and speed in the behavior and the atmosphere on the field. If all of these criteria are not met, the referee cannot issue a red card. In our opinion, Lee Kyu-sung’s behavior was at the top of the yellow card criteria, which means it was on the borderline of a red card, and therefore we respect the referee’s decision,” he said.
“Obviously, we also checked the on-field VAR, but since play continued as normal after the behavior, we only informed the referee afterward that this had occurred, and since it was not an ejection, no on-field review was conducted and the decision was not reversed.”
When asked if he felt pressured by Lee’s previous racial slur, Lee was adamant that he didn’t take that into consideration.
Lee said he understands the criticism, but hopes that people will be more understanding of the referees’ struggles.
“Referees are exposed to discipline all the time. If you get disciplined and you don’t get assignments for a month, you get zero pay. If you don’t get games, 먹튀검증토토사이트 you don’t make a living. We’re all talented, experienced referees who have worked their way up from the amateur ranks to the professional ranks. That’s not to say that we’re going to be overwhelmed with compassion and sympathy for our colleagues. We’re going to be adamant that they didn’t do anything wrong. We just want them to understand that this is a global soccer trend. In the future, we will also invite the media to explain in detail the changing regulations and so on.”
While the referee committee concluded that Lee Kyu-sung’s actions were not intended to harm his opponent, Lee Kyu-sung reportedly contacted Moon Ji-hwan directly the day after the game to apologize.