"Shouldn't the administration of a professional sports team also be professional?"Pohang raises official objection to unqualified player's participation in 'Gwangju Confiscation Defeat'

"Shouldn't the administration of a professional sports team also be professional?"Pohang raises official objection to unqualified player's participation in 'Gwangju Confiscation Defeat'

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Pohang Steelers officially raised an objection to the Korean Professional Football Federation regarding the participation of unqualified players in the match against Gwangju FC, where FIFA disciplinary action is effective.

After the 14th round of the K League 1 2025 between Gwangju and Hana Bank at Stillyard in Pohang on Wednesday, Pohang asked the Korea Professional Football Association about Gwangju's ban on registration of FIFA players. Pohang also sent an official letter to the Korea Professional Football Association.

Gwangju was banned from registering players by FIFA on December 17 last year for failing to pay 3,000 dollars (about 4.2 million won) in solidarity contributions after recruiting Asani in 2023. Solidarity contributions are the amount of some of the transfer fees incurred when a player transfers to a club where the player played between the ages of 12 and 23.

In the process, Gwangju caused controversy over poor administration. The joint contribution was not properly transferred. Gwangju only recently learned about FIFA's disciplinary action. Due to the furlough and turnover of team managers, the issue has not been taken over properly. The official FIFA disciplinary notice is sent to the Korea Football Association, the Professional Football Association, and the club through the Asian Football Confederation, which received the official FIFA disciplinary notice. The Korea Football Association also continued its work without confirmation, creating an administrative vacuum.

Gwangju has recruited more than 10 players in the winter transfer market without even realizing the disciplinary action. It is a violation of regulations. There is no reason to blame the players who joined the club with Lee Jung-hyo, who did not know about this, but they are not allowed to play. All the players who joined the club this winter were registered as K-League players through the Korea Football Association, and Gwangju has played 21 matches including K-League, AFC Champions Elite (ACLE), and Korea Cup. Due to the participation of unqualified players, the possibility of forfeiture is being raised.

First of all, the Korea Football Association gave Gwangju a temporary indulgence. On the night of the 16th, the announcement said, "Gwangju's disciplinary action against FIFA is an accident due to an intentional administrative mistake. It is difficult to judge the players in Gwangju who have played in the game so far as "unqualified," he said. "Rather than reversing the results of the last game, we decided that it is important to guarantee the qualifications of the players by recognizing the results of the game so far and to secure the stability of the league and the tournament."

The Korea Football Association drew a line that our judgment was different from the official position of FIFA and AFC, the top organizations. The Korea Football Association said, "We asked FIFA and AFC officials about the Gwangju issue. We will emphasize that it is an intentional administrative mistake and make active additional clarification efforts." As a result, attention is being paid to the future judgment of FIFA and AFC.

Gwangju had a normal league schedule even when FIFA disciplinary action was in effect. Hayes and Jin Si-woo, who joined this season against Pohang, started, while Park In-hyuk and Joo Se-jong were on the list of candidates. Players who could not play due to regulations played.

As a result, Pohang raised an objection to the Professional Football Federation for "unqualified player participation." Paragraph 2 of the Professional Football Federation Regulations "if an unqualified player's participation in an official game is discovered during or after the game and an objection is raised by the other team within 48 hours of the end of the game", it shall be deemed that the club in which the unqualified player played lost 0-3.

Currently, the Korea Professional Football Association has confirmed Pohang's official letter. The Korea Professional Football Association said over the phone with MK Sports, "We received an official letter from Pohang. After confirming, the legal team is reviewing the matter. It will take some time."

However, it will be difficult for the Professional Football Federation to admit Gwangju's confiscation defeat. This is because the Korea Football Association previously judged that it was difficult to overturn the results of the game over FIFA's disciplinary action in Gwangju. From the perspective of the Professional Football Federation, it will be difficult to interpret it differently from the judgment of the 안전놀이터 Korea Football Association, which is a high-ranking organization.

Other clubs are also paying keen attention to Pohang's official objection. Regarding Gwangju's controversy over poor administration, multiple club officials say in unison, "Apart from the results of soccer, the administration of professional sports teams should also be professional."