"I never said 'period,' I said 'Girl's Day'..." Shocking details revealed over abusive remarks made toward female soccer star Ji So-yun

*This content was translated by AI.

Referee Jin, who sparked controversy by making sexually harassing remarks during a match against Korean women's soccer star Ji So-yun (SuwonFC Woomin), initially retracted her explanation and admitted to using the euphemism "period."

According to JTBC's report on the 30th, the Korea Football Association's referee team ultimately admitted to using the expression "Girl's Day," a euphemism for menstruation, during their wireless communication. Earlier, as the controversy spread, the referee team drew a line by stating, "We did not use the word 'period' in our communication," but it was revealed that while they avoided the direct term, they used a euphemism with the same meaning.

This incident occurred during a 2026 WK League regular-season match between SuwonFC Woomin and Seoul City Hall at Suwon Sports Complex on the 28th. Around the 31st minute of the first half, Ji So-yun approached the head referee to discuss an officiating decision and directly heard the insulting remark being made by head referee Bae Seon-young while she was communicating via wireless with other members of the referee team.

Head referee Bae Seon-young has served as a dedicated WK League referee since last year. She is a figure trusted by the association, having received the "Outstanding Female Referee Award" at a referee conference hosted by the Korea Football Association in December last year.

Ji So-yun, greatly shocked by the unorthodox remarks from a fellow female referee, strongly protested, saying, "Teacher, what did you say?"

However, she received a yellow card from head referee Bae Seon-young. As Ji So-yun, unable to contain her anger over the unjust warning, threw a water bottle near the bench while voicing her grievance, the head referee approached her while fiddling with a red card in his back pocket, signaling a dismissal. Although he did not actually pull out the card, he consistently maintained an intimidating posture by holding a dismissal card aimed at the player during the match.

Referee Bae initially denied the incident when Ji So-yun repeatedly questioned him about the sexually harassing remarks on-site, stating, "I have never said such words." However, as protests from Ji So-yun and the bench intensified, he quietly changed his story, claiming it was "a conversation among us (the referee team)." While this was an excuse that he had not spoken directly to the player, considering the situation immediately following her appeal of the officiating decision and the subsequent warning, it was clear that Ji So-yun was the target of the remark.

SuwonFC Woomin recognized the severity of the incident and immediately moved to take a strong stance. A SuwonFC official stated in a call with StarNews, "We have gathered fact-finding reports and statements from Ji So-yun, as well as head coach Park Gil-young, the interpreter who received a warning while protesting alongside her on the bench, and the home game operations staff present at the scene."

The official continued, "Whether the referee used a euphemism or a direct term, we judge it to be clear sexual harassment and an act of insult toward a player. Based on the compiled documents, we will send an official letter to the Korea Football Association and the Korea Women's Football Association to request a formal investigation into the facts."

The Korea Women's Football Association has also grasped the initial situation through its on-site personnel. The association plans to request access to the referee report and evaluator report from the Korea Football Association early next week to clearly clarify the specific factual circumstances.

Within and outside the football community, criticism is intensifying over this incident where a referee wielding decision-making power did not hesitate to make misogynistic remarks against a star representing the league, calling for a thorough investigation of the facts and severe punishment.

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*This content was translated by AI.