Referee Bae Seon-young's 'Girls Day' Abusive Remark "You Must Be on Your Period" to Ji So-yeon…Referee's One Comment Flips Women's Football Field, Federation Says "It Didn't Happen"
The controversy surrounding a referee's "sexually harassing remark" that emerged during the 2026 WK League Suwon FC Women-Seoul City Hall match held at Suwon Sports Complex on the 28th has escalated into a battle of truth. The concrete testimony of the affected player and the Korea Football Association's outright denial have clashed head-on.
The incident occurred around the 30th minute of the first half. On the Korean Women's Football Association's YouTube live stream, referee Bae Seon-young is shown giving Ji So-yeon a caution, after which Ji So-yeon walks to the bench and protests in an agitated manner, throwing a water bottle. The match was suspended for approximately four minutes.
In a post-match interview, Ji So-yeon revealed that she heard referee Bae say over radio communication, "She's been sensitive from the start. You must be on your period," directed at her. Ji So-yeon stated, "When I said such language was sanctionable, she gave me a yellow card." Referee Bae's side initially denied the remark itself, but as protests continued, reportedly changed her position to say, "It was something we said among ourselves."
The controversy has continued to spread since the Korea Football Association's Referees Division issued a statement on the 29th. According to MBC reporting, the association's referees division denied that "while communication between the referee and the assistant referee did occur, the word 'period' was not used, and no specific player was targeted," while simultaneously stating that "unnecessary remarks and conduct are improper actions" and promising re-prevention education.
This explanation has drawn criticism for being contradictory from both inside and outside the sports community. If the problematic word was not used and no specific player was targeted, questions arise as to what constitutes "unnecessary remarks" and what needs to be "prevented from recurring." There are also criticisms that the association reached conclusions before investigation by issuing a statement before reviewing the referee's report and supervisor's report.
There is also criticism that the association's explanation resulted in overturning the victim's statement without investigation. According to the association's position, Ji So-yeon's testimony, in which she specifically identified the content of the remarks, the situation at the time, and even the sentence she protested, would be deemed untrue. Since sexual harassment cases should follow the principle of confirming the credibility of the victim's statement through investigation, such a response prior to investigation could constitute secondary harassment, according to repeated criticism.
Meanwhile, Ji So-yeon is unable to participate in league matches on next month's 2nd due to accumulated cautions from the yellow card received that day. Alongside criticism of fairness, as only the player who reported the harassment suffered disadvantage, the question of whether post-hoc remedies will be applied to the caution issued during the protest process is expected to become an issue.
Suwon FC Women is preparing to formally raise the issue with the Korean Women's Football Association and plans to release a statement soon. The association stated, "We will request the evaluator's report and referee's report from the federation and understand the specific details after reviewing them." Since radio communication is an official channel heard by all referees, comparison of the communication records from that time and the referees' statements is expected to be the key to the investigation.
Suwon FC Women is the women's team of Suwon FC, a citizen-funded club of Suwon City, and uses Suwon Sports Complex as its home ground. Ji So-yeon is the all-time leading scorer of the Korean women's national A team after playing for Chelsea in England and returning to the domestic stage, making her a symbol of Korean women's football.