Exclusive Players' Association Demands "Permanent Dismissal of Referee Bae Seon-young"..."Interim Referee Committee Chair System Must End Immediately"

Regarding referee Bae Seon-young, who made sexually harassing remarks toward Ji So-yeon, a player for Suwon FC Women and chair of the Korea Professional Football Players' Association (KPFA), during a WK League match, the Korea Professional Football Players' Association has called for "immediate removal from refereeing duties and permanent dismissal." The players' association announced it is sharing this matter with the International Professional Footballers' Association (FIFPRO) and plans to inform FIFA and the AFC (Asian Football Confederation).

The players' association stated this in an official response to this reporter's written inquiry on the 1st. The players' association said, "We are sharing the details of the sexual harassment and discrimination incident by the referee against Chair Ji So-yeon through FIFPRO's reporting system," and "FIFPRO fully supports KPFA's response and our own procedures." It added, "In collaboration with FIFPRO, we plan to share the serious human rights violation against the player that occurred during the match due to the referee with FIFA and AFC."

FIFPRO, established in 1965 with its headquarters in the Netherlands, is the international representative body of professional soccer players, representing players' associations from approximately 60 countries worldwide and some 60,000 professional players. Since FIFPRO is an organization with an official agreement with FIFA that addresses player rights protection and labor environment improvement, FIFPRO's support of this matter demonstrates that the incident can spread beyond the domestic football world to the international stage.

Regarding the level of disciplinary action, the players' association demanded measures beyond internal procedures within the football association. The players' association stated, "We urge the immediate removal from refereeing duties and permanent dismissal of the referee in question," and "Beyond internal disciplinary procedures within the Football Association, we strongly demand that this matter be immediately referred to the Korea Sports Association's Sports Fairness Committee for the highest level of disciplinary action commensurate with the responsibility."

The players' association characterized this incident not as an individual referee's misconduct but as a structural problem. The players' association noted, "This incident merely reveals part of the problems inherent in the current referee management system," and "Concerns have been continuously raised about various issues including referee qualifications, match management, fairness and transparency of referee assignments."

In particular, regarding the Korea Football Association's referee management system, the players' association demanded that "the current interim Referee Committee Chair system be ended immediately, and a transparent and fair referee assignment system independent of external improper intervention or conflicts of interest be established along with personnel and institutional reforms of the overall referee management."

Regarding the seriousness of the remarks, the players' association stated, "A referee who should protect players and fairly manage matches making sexually harassing and discriminatory remarks to a player during a match, and presenting a yellow card to a player who raised an objection, is difficult to tolerate in any professional sports setting worldwide," and "The seriousness is further heightened by the fact that this occurred in a public situation where opposing team players could have heard it."

The players' association warned that if the Korea Football Association fails to take substantive improvement measures, "we will actively consider additional measures including international solidarity and joint action."