Referee Bae Seon-young's "Girl's Day" Vulgarism "It wasn't 'period,' it was 'girl's day'...Is that not a problem then?"

"I didn't use the word 'period.'" This is the clarification from the Korean Football Association's Referee Operations Team regarding the controversy over referee remarks directed at Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC Women). The statement was accurate. The word the referee used was not 'period,' but 'girl's day,' a slang term for menstruation.

According to a Sports Seoul report on the 30th, a Suwon FC official stated: "It has been confirmed that the referee used the expression 'girl's day,' which is slang for menstruation. The federation also acknowledged this point." The player, who was flustered at the moment, simply did not relay the exact wording, but the remark itself that connected the player's protest of the decision to menstruation did occur.

So the question arises: if it wasn't 'period' but 'girl's day,' is there no problem?

Imagine the reverse scenario. If a player had stood before the referee protesting a decision and said to the referee, "You've been sensitive from the start. Must be girl's day?" what would have happened? The player would have been sent off on the spot, referred to the federation's disciplinary committee, and received a match ban. There's no way the clarification of "it was slang" would have been accepted. If the same words coming from the referee's mouth were simply categorized as "unnecessary remarks," that would be a double standard.

The essence of the remark is not about the word itself. A player protesting a decision is an everyday scene on the pitch. The problem lies in the perspective that interprets that protest as "sensitivity," and that sensitivity in turn as menstruation. Whether direct or slang, the moment a female player's legitimate protest is substituted with a biological phenomenon, it becomes sexual harassment. If anything, the fact that the speaker chose slang serves as evidence that the speaker knew the nature of that language.

The federation's response is the same. The clarification that "the word 'period' was not used" may be factually true, but it is not a valid justification. In the process of quibbling over words, the true nature of the remark has become even clearer, and while the federation acknowledges the use of slang, it merely maintains the defense that "it did not specifically target Ji So-yeon."

The problematic remark was made during a WK League match between Suwon FC Women and Seoul City Hall on the 28th at Suwon Sports Complex. Ji So-yeon overheard the referee say on the referee communication system that she was "sensitive from the start" and mention menstruation, and protested. Instead, she received a yellow card. The match was suspended for approximately four minutes. The player who raised the issue cannot play in the next match due to accumulated cautions.

Suwon FC plans to formalize its protest to the federation on the 31st after settling its position. The International Professional Footballers' Association (FIFPro) is also reportedly investigating the circumstances through the Korea Professional Footballers' Association. Now it is the federation's turn to answer. Not what word it was, but how it will discipline that perspective.