Referee faces calls for lifetime ban over alleged period remark to Ji So-yun
Ji So-yun, left, of Suwon FC Women protests to referee Bae Seon-young during a WK League match against Seoul City Hall at Suwon Sports Complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Captured from the Korea Women's Football Federation's YouTube channel
A female referee allegedly mocks the veteran player over her period during a match
A referee's reported remarks to veteran midfielder Ji So-yun of Suwon FC Women have sparked sexual harassment allegations in the WK League. The dispute is expected to escalate as the official allegedly used a slang term for menstruation in response to the player's protest.
According to football insiders Sunday, referee Bae Seon-young reportedly used the term "girls' day" while issuing a caution to Ji around the 30th minute of the first half during a regular season match Friday between Suwon and Seoul City Hall. The phrase is a Korean slang term referring to a woman's menstrual cycle.
Ji later claimed she heard Bae say over the officials' headset, "She is sensitive from the beginning. She must be on her period." Ji confronted the official, saying, "Referee, what did you just say? If you say such things, it is grounds for disciplinary action," before Bae showed her a yellow card.
After receiving the booking, Ji retreated to the bench, discussed the incident with the coaching staff and threw a water bottle in protest. The match was delayed for approximately four minutes as Bae approached the Suwon bench and reached for her red card.
A Suwon official said Bae initially denied making the remark but later claimed, "It was something we said among ourselves." Bae previously won the Outstanding Female Referee Award at the Korea Football Association (KFA) referee conference in December 2025.
Suwon plans to file a formal complaint with the KFA based on statements from players, coaches and officials present at the match.
The Korea Pro-Footballers Association (KPFA) also called for the expulsion of the referee and a complete overhaul of the refereeing system over sexual harassing remarks recently directed at Ji during the match.
The KPFA said Monday, "We are appalled by the referee's sexual remarks made toward Ji during a recent WK League match." It added, "We define this incident not as a simple officiating dispute, but as a serious human rights violation and abuse of power on the pitch, and we urge measures to prevent a recurrence."
The union demanded the Korea Football Association (KFA) immediately form an emergency committee to revamp its referee system and protect players.
"The current problematic, unqualified interim leadership must end immediately, and a transparent referee committee free of external interference and cronyism must be newly established," the KPFA said.
The union also said referee Bae "must be immediately banned from officiating" and called for strong measures.
"The case must bypass the KFA and be referred directly to the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee's Sports Fair Committee to hand down the maximum penalty." the association said.
Ji So-yun of Suwon FC Women sheds tears after losing to North Korea's Naegohyang Women's Football Club in the AFC Women's Champions League semifinal at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, May 20. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon
If Bae used the disputed term, the incident would constitute sexual harassment requiring an apology from the official rather than a penalty against the player. Instead, the booking triggered an automatic suspension for yellow card accumulation that rules Ji out of a Sept. 2 match against Hwacheon KSPO.
Ji holds the Korean national record across both men's and women's football with 176 senior international appearances and 75 goals.
"We lament the reality that even Ji, the backbone of Korean women's football and the KPFA co-president, suffers such profound humiliation," the KPFA said. "We will no longer sit idly by while players' human rights and honor are trampled by a referee's abusive language and blatant cronyism."
The union added, "The referee attempted to block the player's protest using her position, showing Ji a yellow card after the remark and threatening an ejection while holding a red card." It criticized the situation as "a complete farce aiming to silence the player's legitimate protests by abusing the position of referee."
"For a referee, who should protect players first and foremost, to instead inflict deep humiliation on a specific player in front of both teams and use cards as weapons to cover it up is an appalling act that cannot be tolerated in any professional league," KPFA President Lee Keun-ho said.
The KPFA plans to escalate the issue to FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in cooperation with FIFPRO, the global players' union.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.