The Ok League is going through rising controversy because the Korean Skilled Soccer Referees Affiliation introduced it might file a grievance with FIFA over an alleged racist gesture made by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors assistant coach Mauricio Taricco.
As an alternative of gaining help, the transfer is drawing criticism amid mounting frustration over repeated officiating errors this season.
The league mentioned on Thursday that Jeonbuk will submit a written clarification concerning the incident. “We are going to evaluate the referee assessor’s and match commissioner’s experiences, together with a press release written by the match referee, Kim Woo-sung, earlier than deciding whether or not to refer the case to the disciplinary committee,” it mentioned.
The controversy stems from a match between Jeonbuk and Daejeon Hana Citizen FC at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on Nov. 8. In stoppage time, a possible handball penalty for Jeonbuk initially went uncalled, prompting sturdy protests from Taricco, who acquired a yellow card.
Even after a video evaluate awarded Jeonbuk a penalty, Taricco continued protesting and was issued a second yellow card and despatched off.
The referees’ affiliation claims that Taricco made a racist gesture towards the referee, accusing him of “slanting his eyes,” a gesture internationally acknowledged as mocking East Asians.
The affiliation mentioned this violated FIFA’s disciplinary code and the Korea Soccer Affiliation’s ethics guidelines, including that it intends to file a proper grievance with FIFA. It distributed a 15-second video clip to media retailers as “proof.”
Jeonbuk, nonetheless, denied the allegation, saying Taricco was not mocking the referee’s ethnicity however was gesturing to ask the referee whether or not he had “seen the play along with his eyes.”
Regardless of the affiliation’s sturdy stance, public sentiment has turned sharply towards the referees. Many followers view the transfer as “whistleblowing with out self-reflection,” particularly amid mounting criticism of repeated officiating errors within the Ok League this season.
Final month, officiating controversies had been even raised as a serious subject throughout a Nationwide Meeting audit, the place the Korea Soccer Affiliation’s referee chief apologized however offered little readability on accountability.
Including to the frustration, league guidelines bar managers and gamers from publicly criticizing referees after a match, with fines or suspensions imposed for doing so. In the meantime, details about referee errors or disciplinary motion towards referees isn’t disclosed.
One soccer insider mentioned the referees’ affiliation “is demanding disciplinary motion and public apologies from the membership and coach, however has proven little transparency about its personal errors,” including that the transfer is “prompting anger fairly than successful public sympathy.”
This text from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Occasions, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Occasions.
