Controversy arose over the replacement during the match between Jeonbuk and Pohang.

Pohang Kim Yong-hwan is leaving the ground with an injury.

Jeonbuk Hyundai and Pohang Steelers, who suffered from a change of absurdity that cannot be easily found, are nervous and waiting for the judgment of the Korea Professional Football Federation.

In the 35th round of Hana One-Q K League 1 2023 between Jeonbuk and Pohang at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 28th, there was a noise over the replacement of players.

In the 27th minute of the first half, Pohang Kim Yong-hwan was injured and could no longer continue the game. Pohang wanted to replace Shin Kwang-hoon, the number 17, but marked Kim In-sung's number 7 due to a staff member's mistake. On top of that, the judges made a mistake. The replacement was carried out as intended by Pohang without carefully checking the atmosphere.

In the end, both Shin Kwang-hoon and Kim In-sung remained on the ground. Kim Yong-hwan, who could not play more, left the ground and played 11 versus 11, but 12 Pohang players were playing on the record.

Under these circumstances, the game lasted about six minutes. Since then, the situation has been corrected by protests from the Jeonbuk bench. In the end, Pohang belatedly replaced Kim Yong-hwan and Kim Seung-dae in the 33rd minute of the first half.

After the game, Jeonbuk officially asked the federation to forfeit Pohang. According to the rules of the International Football Council (IFAB) rules for player replacement procedures, it was based on the rule that if an "unqualified player" participates in the game, the player's club is considered to lose 0-3 confiscation.

Jeonbuk judged Kim In-sung, who remained on the ground despite the signal of replacement, as an "unqualified player." The club said, "The most basic and important principle in the rules and regulations of the game, the player replacement procedure, is wrong. An accurate decision is needed even for the status of the K League."

Pohang responded, "Our intention was to put Shin Kwang-hoon on behalf of Kim Yong-hwan," but added, "If the judges had taken out Kim In-sung and put Shin Kwang-hoon as we made a mistake, there would have been no problem."

On top of that, Article 3 (3) of the IFAB's rules states that "if the replacement player refuses to leave, the game will continue," so it is expected that various opinions will exchange over Kim In-sung's controversy over his disqualification.

The federation decided to draw a conclusion by combining the opinions of the two clubs, officials at the scene, and the reward and punishment committee. It is also an attitude to make a careful decision by referring to overseas cases. However, it is expected to make a conclusion before the weekend when the FA Cup final will be held.

The federation's decision could affect annual farming in Pohang and Jeonbuk. Currently, Pohang is in second place with 15 wins, 15 draws, 5 losses and 60 points. It is followed by third-place Gwangju FC (57 points) and fourth-place Jeonbuk (53 points). If the forfeiture loss is decided as requested by Jeonbuk, the gap between Pohang (59 points), Gwangju (57 points) and Jeonbuk (55 points) will be narrowed with three games left.

Naturally, the burden of the FA Cup also changes. Pohang and Jeonbuk are both in the FA Cup semifinals. Pohang will advance to the finals against Jeju and Jeonbuk against Incheon United on the 1st of next month.

Three tickets and one for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) and ACL2 in the 2024-25 season, respectively, are allocated to the K-League. The Korea Professional Football Association and the Korea Football Association determine eligibility for the respective competitions, but currently, nothing has been decided but that the K-League 1 winner will participate in the ACLE.

In the end, the decision to lose confiscation at a time when Pohang and Jeonbuk are busy going can have a big impact on the atmosphere of both teams. When the ranking battle is nearing the end, it is primarily up to the federation to decide which side to focus on and whether they can achieve their goals.