Incheon United fans throw water bottles to FC Seoul players after derby match

Incheon United fans throw water bottles to the pitch after the K League 1 FC Seoul-Incheon United FC match at Incheon National Football Stadium ended in Seoul‘s favor, turning the stadium into chaos. Yonhap News Agency

Was it an irrational behavior of rampaging fans, or the arrival of a new rivalry?

On May 11, a "water bottle throwing" incident occurred in the 12th round of the K League 1 football match between Incheon United FC and FC Seoul in Incheon.

The match between the two teams, dubbed the “Kyeongin Derby,” was heated with fights and wars of nerves. The referee gave seven yellow cards and one red card. The players started to receive the cards right at the end of the first half, when Incheon took the lead with Stefan Mugoša‘s goal in the 36th minute.

The scene in question came with a whistle announcing the end of the match. After blocking Incheon's last offensive, Seoul’s goalkeeper Baek Jong-beom raised his arms and roared toward the Incheon supporters' seats, and a number of furious Incheon fans began throwing water bottles at Baek and other Seoul players. Seoul’s captain Ki Sung-yueng fell to the ground after being hit by a water bottle when he approached Baek to protect him.

The incident, which was concluded after the Incheon players asked their fans to stop, is likely to lead to disciplinary action. According to the rules of the Professional Football Federation, a football team of which fans throw objects on the ground can be punished by holding a home game without a crowd or a home game in a third region, imposing a fine of more than 3 million won, or closing seats for their fans at a home and an away match.

In 2022, a Daegu FC supporter was fined 10 million won for throwing a water bottle at a home game against Suwon Samsung after being dissatisfied with the referee's decision. However, this time, there are a large number of people involved and even a player was injured so more severe punishment is expected. An official from the federation said, “A full-scale discussion will be held on the 13th after receiving a report from a supervisor of the match.”

Opinions are divided on the incident in the football world. Amid the widespread criticism that fierce competition should be limited to the field, there was an opinion that the derby of the K League in the past was a mixture of barbarism and irrationality. It also seems to contain expectations that Incheon will be able to fill the vacancy of Suwon Samsung, which moved down to the second division of the K League this year. The next match between Seoul and Incheon will be held on July 27 at the same venue.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.