South Korean football club Seongnam FC said on Wednesday they have filed an appeal with the K League, the operator of the country's professional football leagues, over their opponents' fielding of an ineligible player in a playoff match last year.
Seongnam said they recently sent a formal document to the K League demanding that the second leg of the promotion playoffs on Nov. 20, 2016, be forfeited due to Gangwon FC's use of an ineligible player. Seongnam added they should have been awarded a 3-0 win as a result.
Seongnam, which finished 11th in the top-flight K League Classic in 2016, had to face then-second tier club Gangwon in the two-leg playoff series to remain in the first division for the 2017 season. However, Seongnam failed to clear the mission as they lost to Gangwon on the away goals rule.
Seongnam played to a scoreless draw in the first leg on the road before picking up a 1-1 stalemate at home in the second leg. The result dropped Seongnam to the second division for the first time in their club history, a real shocker for the seven-time first-division winners.
"We've requested the K League to take proper measures for our losses stemming from not playing in the 2017 K League Classic," Seongnam said. "If the K League doesn't take notable action, we will take legal steps."
Seongnam claimed that then-Gangwon midfielder Sergio Paulo Nascimento Filho, better known as Serginho, was ineligible to play in the second leg because he was under investigation by South Korea police over using a fake passport.
Serginho had dual citizenship in Brazil and Syria when he joined Gangwon last June through the league's Asian player quota. However, it turned out his Syrian passport had been doctored and the 29-year-old footballer eventually had to be kicked out of South Korea.
According to the K League code, a club needs to file a complaint against an opponent's fielding of an ineligible player within 48 hours after their match. Seongnam said they had filed the complaint less two days after the second leg.
The K League said it's difficult to accept Seongnam's request, saying Serginho was not considered ineligible when he played against Seongnam.
"Serginho wasn't confirmed as an ineligible player then," a K League official said. "So, it's difficult to overturn the match result. We're still examining reasons why Seongnam has filed an appeal."
Seongnam are currently the bottom dwellers in the 10-team K League Challenge, while Gangwon sit in 10th place in the 12-team K League Classic. (Yonhap)