FC Seoul physical coach Jung Hoon-ki, who plays for the same team as Go Yo-han, who was at the center of an assault incident at the Super Match, has been disciplined.
The Korea Professional Football Association held its 16th Punishment Committee on Tuesday and imposed a three-match suspension and a fine of 5 million won on Jung Hoon-ki, and a two-match suspension on Go Yo-han as an ex post facto punishment.
Coach Jung Hoon-ki was ejected after a VAR on-field review confirmed that he engaged in violent behavior toward an opposing player during a clash between the two teams’ squads in second-half stoppage time during the K League 1 Round 37 match between Seoul and Suwon at Seoul World Cup Stadium on May 25.
The three-match suspension for coach Jung Hoon-ki is separate from the two-match suspension for his ejection during the match.
During the collision, Ko Yo Han pulled his opponent’s hair, which the referee failed to notice.
The Korean Football Association’s Refereeing Committee later determined that Goh’s behavior constituted an ejectionable foul. Accordingly, the federation’s punishment committee imposed a two-match suspension, which is equivalent to an ejection.
The match was a must-win for Suwon to stay in the relegation battle. With a home attendance of 36,007, Seoul’s total attendance for the 2023 season was 43,0029, marking the first time the club has exceeded 400,000 fans since the K League’s 2018 pay-per-view statistics.
Furthermore, Seoul recorded an average attendance of 22,633 for the 2023 season, surpassing the previous record of 21,901 (Lotte Giants of the KBO in 2008) and rewriting the record for the highest average attendance in a single season in Korean professional sports.
However, in addition to losing the game 0-1, he was also suspended for assaulting an opponent, making it a game of “lost game, lost manners. A festive day with a new record for the largest crowd was ruined.
After Basani scored the winning goal 18 minutes into the second half to give Suwon a 1-0 victory, both teams engaged in “bench-clearing” in stoppage time following a collision between Ki Sung-yueng and Jeon Jin-woo.
Ki Sung-yueng was cautioned for being the initiator. Coach Jung Hoon-ki was sent off directly after the referee communicated with him. However, there were cases that were missed by the referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VOR).
Suwon officially reported the incident to the federation on the 27th after the game, and the federation held a punishment committee.
The KFA decided to issue a stern warning to both Seoul and Suwon regarding the incident, and to take strong measures to prevent the recurrence of so-called “bench-clearing” in the future, including revising the rules to prevent players from physically clashing in groups on the field.