The anger of each club and fans continues towards the Korea Football Association (KFA), which hosts the FA Cup. Earlier, Incheon United expressed dissatisfaction with the postponement of the FA Cup semi-final against Jeonbuk Hyundai, saying, “It was a unilateral notification.” there is.
The situation was this. Pohang was scheduled to play Jeju and FA Cup semi-finals at 7:30 pm on the 9th at Jeju World Cup Stadium. However, with less than an hour left before the start of the game, it was suddenly decided to postpone the game. It was a sudden decision at a time when both Pohang and Jeju had already announced the starting lineup.
The reason for the delay was ‘concern’ following Typhoon Kanun North. The KFA also said on the same day, “The Jeju-Pohang match has been canceled or postponed due to concerns about typhoons and safety accidents. With Typhoon Kanun heading north, it was confirmed as a postponement under the judgment of the game supervisor due to concerns about the safety accidents of players and spectators when the game is forced.” It was a decision made according to the rules of the competition, which stated that ‘if it is judged that the game cannot be held due to force majeure such as bad weather or natural disaster, the game supervisor may decide to cancel or suspend the game in consultation with the competition headquarters.’
The problem was that it was not a situation where the game was immediately postponed and safety was not a concern. According to the team and field officials, when the postponement was decided, the site was neither heavy rain nor strong winds. It would have been natural to postpone the game if there were concerns about the safety of the actual players and spectators, but it was difficult to understand that the game was suddenly postponed even though it was possible to play soccer normally.
Moreover, even the game supervisor had already decided to hold the match normally. The home team, the Jeju club, even informed the fans, saying, “After discussions between the game supervisor and the KFA, it was decided that the event will proceed normally.” First of all, the two clubs were notified of a rule that the game could be held normally, but it could be suspended depending on the weather situation during the game. An official from the Pohang club said, “The game supervisor made it clear that he could play. Instead, I was told that if the rain and wind were too strong during the game and it was judged to be dangerous, I could immediately stop and postpone the game. I knew that and was preparing.”
The sudden postponement of the game was the start of an official notice from Jeju Island. On this day, Jeju Island sent an official letter requesting the postponement of the game to the KFA and clubs about an hour and a half before the game. 안전놀이터 The gist of the official letter sent by Jeju Island was that ‘while the nation is making efforts to prepare for disasters, a soccer game can encourage insensitivity to safety’. The game supervisor and the KFA, who have the right to decide whether to force or postpone the game, finally decided to postpone the game according to this official document. The players and home and away fans preparing for the game were notified of the absurd decision less than an hour before kickoff.
In particular, the anger of Pohang, who was on the way to the expedition, was great. It was difficult to understand the timing of the official notification from Jeju Island, the contents of the official document, and KFA, which finally decided to postpone the game based on Jeju Island’s request rather than consultation with the club. It was a pity that there was no respect for the players who were already preparing for the game and the Pohang away fans who were on the way to cheer for the Jeju away.
An official from Pohang said, “Because of an official letter from Jeju Island, the game was postponed with less than an hour left before the start. It was written in the official document that it “encourages insensitivity to safety.” The single word “insensitivity to safety” has turned us into a senseless club that wants to hold the tournament without caring about safety. If you were really concerned about safety, of course you should have sent an official letter a day in advance to discuss the postponement. In the end, about 100 away fans came through the typhoon that day. Everyone is so angry, and it is not easy to understand.”
“I don’t understand Jeju Island, which sent the official letter, but I think KFA’s response is also a problem. It is the logic that ‘we have received an official letter, so we have no choice but to postpone it’, but if the contents of the official letter are unreasonable, ‘we are watching all situations, and if there is a problem, we will postpone it. I think it is the attitude of KFA, the organizer, to convince them, ‘Don’t worry because we are taking these measures.’ Jeju Island, which sent an official letter right before the game, and KFA, which postponed the game now that they received the official letter, did not fulfill their respective responsibilities,” he criticized.
Unfortunately, after the game was canceled, the Pohang players continued training normally at the Jeju World Cup Stadium. First of all, it means that there was no problem at all with the extremely normal procedure of conducting the game and observing the situation. An official said, “(There was no consultation related to the postponement decision) at all. We wanted to play. It is the result, but it did not rain much in Jeju Island during the game time.”
The problem is that the club and fans have to bear the damage caused by the postponement of the game. The Pohang team arrived on the 7th (Monday) in preparation for the typhoon. If the decision to postpone the match had been made earlier, we could have found the way back to Pohang earlier. Fans also had no reason to go all the way to Jeju. The game seemed to be going normally, but suddenly it was canceled an hour ago, and the players and fans were tied up. An official from Pohang said, “The team returns only on Friday (the 11th). I don’t know who should be responsible for the cost of staying for the team for 5 days, as well as the cost of the 100 fans who would not have come if they had decided to postpone it in advance,” he added.
Rescheduling the postponed game has become difficult. Pohang, in particular, is scheduled for two series of deadly expeditions leading to Gangwon and Incheon at the end of this month. If the expedition to Jeju is scheduled for August 29-30, Pohang may have to continue the forced march to Gangneung, Jeju and Incheon. The condition of the players who have been twisted as much as the schedule should be readjusted to prepare for the home game against Gwangju FC on the 13th. This is the background that has no choice but to burst into anger toward Jeju Island and the KFA.
It is not only Pohang that expressed regret with the KFA administration regarding the schedule in the FA Cup semifinals. Earlier, the Incheon club unusually expressed its dissatisfaction openly through the club’s entrance statement. This is because the FA Cup semifinals, which were originally scheduled to be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, could not be held due to the aftermath of the Jamboree Concert, and the KFA decided to postpone the match of the two teams, not to hold another stadium.
As Jeonbuk gave up hosting the home game, the Incheon side insisted that it should be held at Incheon home according to the rules of the tournament, and if not, they planned to accept the match at the 3rd stadium (Daejeon) proposed by Jeonbuk. Both Jeonbuk and Incheon have already agreed to hold the 3rd stadium. However, KFA did not allow Jeonbuk to give up hosting the home game because of the external variable of a national event. It is the background that the game was postponed without being held at Incheon home or at the 3rd stadium.