There's a guideline for "Recommend using A match period." The postponed Ulsan-Seoul match schedule is still undecided. Why?'

*This content was translated by AI.

The schedule for the showdown between Ulsan HD and FC Seoul in the K League 1 of professional football, which had been postponed due to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) schedule, has not yet been confirmed. The Korean Professional Football Federation has to make a final decision due to the lack of consultations between the clubs on the game schedule, but the Seoul club is protesting as the schedule, which is far from the federation guidelines that were originally announced to the clubs, is known to be likely.

Earlier, the showdown between Ulsan and Seoul in the second round of Hana Bank's K League 1 2026 was scheduled to take place at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on the 7th. However, Seoul's advance to the round of 16 ACLE from 2025 to 2026, added the first and second games of the ACLE round of 16 on the 4th and 11th, before and after the match against Ulsan. In response, the Seoul club asked the federation to postpone the game against Ulsan. The federation previously announced to each club, "If the team that advanced to the upper round of the ACL wishes, even if it is a home game of the eliminated team, the schedule can be changed regardless of the intention of the eliminated team."

The problem is that we have not yet decided when to play the match between Ulsan and Seoul, which has been postponed due to the ACLE schedule. The federation said that if the game is postponed due to ACLE, it can be changed to a weekday or A-match period, but basically, the schedule to be derived through consultation between the two clubs is considered first. On top of that, the federation will make a final decision by comprehensively considering the schedule of the two clubs' before and after games, broadcasting arrangements, and the possibility of attracting guests.

The match between Pohang Steelers and Gangwon FC, which was also postponed due to the ACLE round of 16, was confirmed early to be held at 3 p.m. on the 28th during the A-match period thanks to the fast finding of an agreement between the clubs. However, unlike Pohang-Gangwon, Ulsan and Seoul are said to have differences over holding the A-match period. Seoul wants to hold the A-match period based on the federation guidelines, while Ulsan is likely to be assigned to the A-team, including Cho Hyun-woo and Lee Dong-kyung, and has expressed difficulty as the loss of power is inevitable.

The Seoul club, however, interprets it as a decision that goes beyond the "guidelines" originally proposed by the federation if the game is scheduled at a time other than the A-match period. In fact, the guidelines announced by the federation to the clubs said, "This season, there are many rounds during the week due to the World Cup, and the schedule during the week that can accommodate rescheduled games is limited. It includes "We recommend using the weekend during the A-match period when discussing between the two teams." The Seoul club argues that it is not in line with the guidelines of the league in the first place to organize games during the week after the A-match period, not the weekend of the A-match period.

Moreover, although there are not many players who are likely to be selected for the Hong Myung-bo Team like Ulsan, Seoul also has power variables due to the transfer of the national team during the A-match period, such as Yazan (Jordan) and the national team by age. On top of that, if a new midweek game is scheduled in the already tight K-League schedule, the Seoul club will have to bear the burden of going to Ulsan during the week between weekend games. If the game is organized during the week in the middle of next month, for example, not during the A-match period, Seoul may suffer.

It is difficult to interpret the postponement of the two teams' K-League schedule due to Seoul's ACLE schedule as Ulsan's consideration. The federation has already stressed that the K-League schedule can be changed if the ACLE participating teams "hope" and that the K-League schedule can be changed even if only one of the two teams wants to face off against each other like Pohang-Gangwon. It is not a concept that Ulsan accepted Seoul's request to postpone the game, but in the first place, the federation guidelines allow the K-League game to be rescheduled according to the ACLE schedule. In other words, the logic that "Ulsan made one concession, so Seoul should make concessions on the schedule for the re-match" is not correct in the first place.

The federation said, "However, the guidelines for holding the A-match period" of the postponed schedule, emphasized by the Seoul club, were only recommendations during the consultation process between the clubs, and there are differences in positions between the clubs in the recommendation, so in the end, both teams have no choice but to set the schedule at a time when the damage can be minimized. Considering the midweek schedule of the K League in the second half of the year after the World Cup and the Korea Cup schedule, it is likely that the game will be assigned around the middle of next month.

An official from the federation said, "The schedule of the two teams has not yet been finalized. From the perspective of the federation, rather than one team benefiting from the change in the K-League schedule, both teams should schedule the game as a date when they do not lose money. That's why the consultation is taking a long time, he said. "The guidelines we guided the clubs were about a big framework for changing the schedule. If it is negotiated, it means that the A-match period is recommended, not that it should be done unconditionally during the A-match period," he explained.

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*This content was translated by AI.