"It is truly frustrating and heartbreaking," sighs the Japanese football community; South Korea has not sent a single referee to the World Cup in "referee assignment" controversy

*This content was translated by AI.

The Japanese football community is sighing after the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA North America World Cup. Although two referees participated in this tournament, they finished the competition without being assigned as either a main referee or an assistant referee. South Korean football has not even experienced the World Cup stage with a single referee for four consecutive tournaments since the 2010 South Africa World Cup, while Japanese football has moved beyond simply producing World Cup referees and is now aiming to assign main and assistant referees, suggesting that even in refereeing, a gap between Korea and Japan has widened.

According to Japanese football media outlets such as Football Zone and Soccer King on the 21st, Kenji Okiya of the Japan Football Association Shim Pan-wi (Director) stated at a referee briefing for the media held in Tokyo, Japan, that "the individuals involved must have felt truly frustrated and upset. We feel the same way" regarding the cancellation of main and assistant referee assignments for referees Yusuke Araki and Jun Mihara at the North America World Cup.

Japan had referees Araki and Mihara listed on the World Cup referee roster as a main referee and an assistant referee, respectively, for this tournament. However, they were limited to roles such as assistant referees or reserve assistant referees and did not actually officiate matches on the field. Okiya Shim Pan-wi (Director) said, "I had the opportunity to speak with both referees in the United States, and I believe they must have had many regrets."

Nevertheless, Oh Gi-ya (Chairman) added, "Although they were not assigned as main referees this time, it must have been a precious experience for Japanese referees to participate on the World Cup stage for over a month. This is also a matter of pride." He continued, "However, in future tournaments such as 2030 and 2034, there must be a Japanese main referee who oversees World Cup matches. We need to consider how to achieve this. It is an issue that must definitely be realized."

The 2026 FIFA North America World Cup assembled the largest-ever officiating team, with 52 main referees, 88 assistant referees, and 30 video assistant referee (VAR) officials. Japan once again received calls from FIFA for two referees in this tournament, marking eight consecutive World Cups producing referees.

However, South Korean football failed to produce a single World Cup referee "again." This continued the humiliation of having no one step onto the World Cup stage for four consecutive tournaments. Even Chinese football, which did not qualify for the World Cup finals, has produced one assistant referee and one VAR official alongside main referee Ma Ning.

The last time a South Korean referee appeared on the World Cup stage was when assistant referee Jeong Hae-sang officiated at the 2010 South Africa World Cup. For main referees, one must go back as far as 24 years to referee Kim Young-ju during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. Amidst continuous controversies over K League match decisions, South Korean football still considers "producing a World Cup referee" itself as its goal. In contrast, producing World Cup referees has become commonplace for Japanese football, which now aims to produce referees who actually oversee matches, such as main and assistant referees. It is a bitter situation where even the gap in refereeing between South Korea and Japan is beginning to widen further.

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*This content was translated by AI.