"Because they curse referees on the field," Moon Jin-hui (Chairman) shifts blame, unfit to be 'top referee official'

*This content was translated by AI.

"Our country's structure is such that people curse referees on the field, so no one wants to become a referee."

This was Moon Jin-hee of the KFA, Shim Pan-wi (Director), whose answer left listeners doubting their ears. It came during a hearing on the KFA held by the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the 30th. In response to a question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Jeong-moon regarding why not even a single referee has been selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Moon offered not a cool analysis or reflection, but simply blamed others.

In fact, during the recent North American World Cup, the number of participating teams increased from 32 to 48, and naturally, the number of matches rose as well, leading to the largest-ever referee contingent. The total reached 170 referees: 52 main referees, 88 assistant referees, and 30 video assistant referees (VAR). Yet not a single Korean referee made the list. The last time a Korean referee appeared on the World Cup stage was at the 2010 South Africa World Cup. For 16 consecutive years since then, no Korean referee has been selected for the tournament.

When asked by Lee Jeong-mun (Rep.), "Did Korea send any referees to the North American World Cup?" Moon Jin-hui (Chairman) replied, "We did not," adding, "Our country's structure is such that people curse referees on the field, so no one wants to become a referee." The diagnosis from the current 'top referee official' of Korean football is that Korean referees fail to reach the World Cup because there are too few referees, and the root cause lies in Korea's culture of blaming referees for match results. Rather than examining internal issues within the refereeing system or the level of referees themselves, the blame was placed on football fans, players, and clubs.

While one might set aside his arrogant attitude during the hearing as a matter of personal character, it is clear that the failure to produce World Cup referees is the most significant issue for which Shim Pan-wi (Director) bears primary responsibility. This was not a difficult question involving allegations such as illegal election campaigning to support then-candidate Jeong Mong-gyu's election last year; rather, it was a straightforward inquiry about the factual matter of failing to produce World Cup referees. As the top referee official or from the perspective of the Referee Committee, he should have explained the causes identified through analysis and outlined how improvements could be made in the future. Moon Jin-hui (Chairman)'s act of shifting blame went beyond absurdity; it was utterly disheartening.

The problem is that the cause of Moon Jin-hui (Chairman)'s diagnosis—that referees are cursed—ultimately points to 'referee quality.' As Moon (Chairman) put it, there is no case where referees are cursed simply because their team lost. However, when a critical error significantly affects the outcome of a match, it is natural for criticism to be directed at the referee. While such errors may stem from simple mistakes, if they recur, the responsibility lies with the referee's skill and level, as well as the Referee Committee that failed to improve or verify them.

Last year, when Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman) succeeded in securing a fourth term, coincidentally followed by his appointment as the new Shim Pan-wi (Director) amid allegations of illegal election campaigning, the surge in controversy over erroneous calls was highly significant. Moon (Chairman) had previously explained that the apparent increase in the number of erroneous calls was due to his desire to distinguish between 'wrong decisions' and 'clear errors,' stating, "Until last year (2024), we did not refer to incorrect decisions as erroneous calls. I wanted to differentiate between wrong decisions and clear errors." However, since last year, particularly in the K League, there has been an unbroken stream of major erroneous calls—decisions that are difficult to accept—which cannot be ignored.

Moreover, there have been numerous cases where erroneous calls persisted even after undergoing video review, a system introduced precisely to reduce such errors. The unprecedented event last October when Moon Jin-hui (Chairman) appeared as a witness before the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee due to K League controversy over erroneous calls also fully demonstrated how serious the referee-related issues had become under Moon Jin-hui (Chairman)'s leadership.

Nevertheless, if the chairman who ultimately blamed Korea's culture of cursing referees on the field for the failure to produce World Cup referees—and by extension, the skill and quality issues among domestic referees—has no reason to remain in his position as the top official of Korean football referees. Given the numerous controversies surrounding Moon (Chairman), it is also a time when urgent change is needed for the domestic refereeing community to evolve, even if belatedly. One takeaway from this hearing, which faced significant criticism for being superficial, was that despite the departure of both Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman) and coach Hong Myung-bo, reform targets remain within the Football Association.

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*This content was translated by AI.