Jeonbuk call for result to be overturned after Steelers accidentally field 12 men

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Monday asked the K League to force the Pohang Steelers to forfeit Saturday's 1-1 draw after the Steers accidentally played with 12 players for six minutes of the game.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' Park Jin-seob in action during a K League match against the Pohang Steelers at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla in a photo shared on Jeonbuk's official Facebook account on Monday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Monday asked the K League to force the Pohang Steelers to forfeit Saturday's 1-1 draw after the Steers accidentally played with 12 players for six minutes of the game.

K League rules stipulate that a team should be awarded an automatic 3-0 win if an unsanctioned player is found to be on the pitch during a game.

The incident stems from substitution confusion during Saturday's game in Jeonju, North Jeolla. During the match, Steelers defender Kim Young-hwan appeared to have some pain in his right leg, prompting manager Kim Gi-dong to substitute him for Shin Kwang-hoon.

The Steelers coaching staff, however, accidentally requested that midfielder Kim In-sung was substituted off — apparently confusing him for Kim Young-hwan — for Shin.

Kim In-sung did not leave the pitch, however, presumably because he believed that Kim Young-hwan had been substituted off for Shin.

With Kim In-sung still on the pitch and Shin going into the game, it left 12 Steelers technically in the match. Kim Young-hwan was on the sidelines, but had not been substituted out of the game.

Kim Young-hwan was then substituted for Kim Seung-dae after he returned to the bench six minutes later.

Jeonbuk said that since Kim In-sung still played the game despite being requested to be substituted, it is a breach of the International Football Association Board rules, which stipulate that a substituted player cannot play any role in the match.

The K League held a tournament committee on Monday and said that it will decide this week whether it will have the Steelers forfeit the match.

Saturday’s match ended with a 1-1 draw with the two sides sharing one point each. If the result changes with a loss for the Steelers, it could potentially alter the league standings with three fixtures left to play.

The second-place Steelers will have 59 points and fourth-place Jeonbuk will have 55 with the potential change making it possible for third-place Gwangju FC, with 57, to further narrow the gap and snatch second place.

Jeonbuk could also take third place from Gwangju.

The frontrunner position will not change as Ulsan Hyundai locked in the 2023 K League on Sunday.

Finishing as runners-up will be ideal for the Steelers, as only K League winners and runners-up, in addition to Korean FA Cup winners, earn a spot in the AFC Champions League starting next season.

The top three K League teams from last season played in this season’s Champions League, but only the top two clubs will have a chance to do so in the 2024-25 season due to the tournament rule change.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]