Women's Football Federation, "Seriously Recognizes Issue of Referee's Inappropriate Remarks, Requests Official Stance from Korea Football Association"

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korea Women's Football Federation announced that it has requested the Referee Team of the Korea Football Association, which handles all referee-related affairs in the country, to determine future measures following controversy over a referee's inappropriate remarks directed at a player.

On the 31st, the federation issued a statement saying, "We have heard the views of the relevant club (Suwon FC Women) immediately after the match and reviewed related materials including the Korea Football Association's referee report and the match supervisor's report." It added, "We have requested the KFA Referee Operations Team to provide an official stance that includes confirmation of the specific facts regarding the match situation and the remarks made at the time, as well as future handling measures."

The federation stated, "Given that this matter involves a player perceiving inappropriate expressions directed at her during the referee team's wireless communication process, we recognize it seriously as an issue directly linked to the respect for players' dignity, mutual respect and trust among league members, and the fair operating environment of the WK League."

It further noted, "Once the facts are confirmed, necessary measures must follow, and practical improvement plans should be established to prevent recurrence of similar issues. However, since referees are also important members who operate the WK League together, we plan to use this incident not merely as a matter of blaming or assigning responsibility to specific individuals, but as an opportunity to review the overall match operation culture and communication systems in the league."

The federation added, "We plan to hold a roundtable meeting involving practical officials including WK League referees under the Korea Football Association, along with participating clubs in the WK League. Through this meeting, we aim to share each party's perspectives and jointly discuss ways to develop the WK League, including response methods for potential conflicts at match sites and communication procedures related to refereeing." It concluded, "We will continue taking necessary measures through various responses to prevent recurrence of similar incidents like this one."

According to reports from the federation and other sources, during a match between Suwon FC Women and Seoul City Hall held at Suwon Sports Complex on the 28th, a female referee used wireless communication to make remarks to another referee that included slang for menstruation ("Girl's Day") and comments implying sensitivity toward Ji So-yun in connection with her appeal against an officiating decision. Ji So-yun protested upon hearing this. The head referee initially denied making such remarks but later clarified that it was "a conversation among ourselves (referees)." Ji So-yun received a warning during the protest process, placing her in a situation where she cannot participate in the next match due to accumulated caution sanctions.

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*This content was translated by AI.