'Referee late' on the professional stage → An unprecedented delay in the game... "Better administration than amateurs"

*This content was translated by AI.

Ahead of the start of the professional basketball game, the referee did not arrive, leading to an absurd skit in which the game was delayed. The referee allocation system, which was put forward as an excuse for preventing corruption, revealed the unfamiliarity of amateur administration that could not even calculate the physical travel time.

Hana Bank's 2025-2026 women's professional basketball match between Cheongju KB Stars and Incheon Shinhan Bank at Cheongju Gymnasium on the 16th began at 7:30 p.m., not at 7 p.m. This is because the WKBL (Korea Women's Basketball Federation)'s notification of the allocation of referees was delayed too much, causing an unprecedented situation in which referees could not arrive at the stadium on time.

After the game, the federation issued an official apology to settle the matter. WKBL bowed its head, saying, "We apologize to fans and officials for the setback in the operation of the game in relation to the delay of about 30 minutes in the opening of the regular league game between KB Stars and Shinhan Bank at Cheongju Gymnasium."

"We will consider this issue a serious issue and receive a report from the relevant person in charge to clarify the cause and responsibility of the issue after the game ends on the 16th," he said. "We plan to hold a financial committee as soon as possible to comprehensively review the situation of the delay and follow-up measures."

He also promised, "We will officially apologize to all clubs, including both clubs, for this matter, and push for inspection and improvement of the overall game management and on-site management system to prevent a recurrence in the future."

In particular, regarding the refund measures preemptively implemented by the home club KB Stars for fans, he added, "WKBL will bear all expenses related to the crowd refund measures incurred by the delay in the game today."

In the name of securing fairness, it was a skit that failed to comply with the game time, which is the basis of league management.

Earlier, a federation official said in a phone call with Star News, "To prevent unsavory events such as referee purchases, we are notified of the allocation on the day of the game, but today we are late because the delivery timing is later than usual," adding, "It is a bad case caused by a loophole in the allocation system."

Fans were also strongly upset by the incident. On SNS, which reported the news of the delay in the game, criticism poured out, such as "I've never seen anything like this," "What on earth are the clubs guilty of?" "I have to go without seeing all the games," and "Amateur is not like this."

Even in the chaotic atmosphere, KB Stars did not falter. KB Stars defeated Shinhan Bank 88-77 on the day and won two consecutive games. Ace Kang Yi-seul exploded 32 points, including seven three-point shots, while Park Ji-soo (18 points and 9 rebounds) and Sakai Sara (11 points and 8 assists) supported them. On the other hand, Shinhan Bank remained at the bottom of the list, falling into a quagmire for nine consecutive losses.

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*This content was translated by AI.