K League's Gwangju FC facing transfer ban for overstating revenue: Reports

Gwangju FC could be facing a transfer ban after reportedly overstating profits in its budget, which would bar the club from making changes to its lineup during the summer transfer window as it seeks to shed its status as a mid-table team.

Gwangju manager Lee Jung-hyo, right, shouts orders during a match against Ulsan HD at Gwangju Football Stadium in Gwangju on May 15. [YONHAP]

K League 1 side Gwangju FC could be facing a transfer ban after overstating profits in its budget, according to Korean media reports, which would bar the club from making changes to its lineup during the summer transfer window as it seeks to shed its status as a mid-table team.

Gwangju overstated its expected revenue for the 2024 season and misrepresented player transfer fees, violating standards set by the league’s finance committee to ensure greater stability implemented this year, according to a Yonhap News report.

The club reportedly may also face restrictions on player spending for the 2025 K League 1 season.

Gwangju, who joined the K League 1 in 2011 and returned to the top tier in 2023 after winning the K League 2 the previous year, is run by the city of Gwangju — as most K League clubs are operated by the city to which they belong.

Gwangju play at the smallest stadium in the 12-team K League 1, hosting home games at the 10,000-capacity Gwangju Football Stadium. Its average attendance this season was 5,664 as of Thursday, according to football statistics tracker Transfermarkt.

If Gwangju fails to increase the club’s income, it will be blocked from bringing in new players through the summer transfer window, which runs from June 20 to July 31.

Gwangju FC play Daejeon Hana Citizen at the 10,000-capacity Gwangju Football Stadium in Gwangju on May 6. [NEWS1]

But it could be eligible to sell players on its roster, as negotiations over contracts were already in play before the K League informed Gwangju of the pending transfer ban.

Among the players rumored to be up for a transfer is forward Jasir Asani, whom Gwangju manager Lee Jung-hyo publicly slammed earlier this season for his poor performance.

“He has gained a lot of weight and is not good enough in training," Lee told reporters ahead of an April 13 fixture against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, which Gwangju lost 2-1. "Even if we lose 10 games in a row, Asani will still not play games with his current performance as long as I am still manager."

Asani has seen just eight minutes on the pitch in 2024, in a match against Gimcheon Sangmu on April 6.

Asani, who joined Gwangju on a $700,000 transfer fee ahead of the 2023 K League 1 season, made 30 league appearances for the club, recording seven goals and three assists to help lift Gwangju to a third-place finish and land them a spot in the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite.

Asani is set to join the Albanian national team for the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, which begins this weekend and runs through mid-July.

K League games resume this weekend after a two-week FIFA international break that saw the Korean national team win 7-0 over Singapore and 1-0 over China to advance to the next stage of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers as winners of the second round.

Gwangju sit in seventh place with six wins, nine losses and one draw as of Thursday.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]