South Korean women's football star Ji So-yeon. [Newsis]
South Korean women's football star Ji So-yeon. [Newsis]

The Korea Women's Football Federation has stepped in officially after controversy spread over an alleged inappropriate remark made by a WK League referee toward Ji So-yeon, the face of South Korean women's football and a Suwon FC Women player.

The federation said Monday it would investigate the incident that arose during the 2026 WK League match between Suwon FC Women and Seoul City Hall at Suwon Sports Complex on Friday. It also said it would put follow-up measures in place to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

Around the 30th minute of the first half, Ji received a yellow card after protesting a rough foul by an opposing player, causing the match to be halted for about four minutes. Ji has claimed that during the stoppage, the referee crew made a wireless communication in which they referred to her as being "sensitive from the start" and used the slang term "girl's day" — a euphemism for menstruation — prompting her to protest further, which led to the yellow card.

As the controversy grew after the match, Suwon FC Women formally requested Sunday that the Women's Football Federation and the Korea Football Association verify the facts and take appropriate action.

The federation said it listened to Suwon FC Women's account and reviewed related materials, including the KFA referee report and match commissioner's report. It then formally requested that the KFA's referee operations team provide an official statement covering the circumstances of the match, the background of the alleged remarks, a detailed account of the facts, and a plan for how the matter would be handled going forward.

"Once the facts are confirmed, the necessary measures must follow," the federation said. "Practical improvements must also be put in place to ensure the same problem does not recur." However, the federation said it intends to treat the incident not merely as a matter of individual blame or accountability, but as an opportunity to examine the operational culture of the WK League and the communication framework between referees and players.

To that end, the federation said it would convene a forum bringing together WK League referees affiliated with the KFA, other relevant officials and participating clubs. The forum will discuss how to handle conflicts that arise on the pitch, communication procedures, and broader measures to develop the WK League's refereeing standards going forward.

Earlier Monday, the Korea Professional Football Players Association urged the Women's Football Federation to respond firmly, calling Ji's case "not a simple dispute over a call, but a serious human rights violation and an abuse of power by a referee on the pitch."

Lee Geun-ho, who serves as co-chair of the players' association alongside Ji, criticized the referee's conduct in strong terms. "The referee, who should be the one closest to protecting players, instead inflicted irreparable humiliation on a specific player in front of all the players from both teams," he said. "Using a card as a weapon to silence her is an appalling act that would not be tolerated in any professional league anywhere in the world."

The players' association also called on the KFA to form an emergency task force to reform the referee system and strengthen player protections, and urged that the referee involved be removed from duty.


betterj@heraldcorp.com