It is a football world that has become obliged to accept the decision process without any protest.
The aftermath of the inexperienced management of the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree has been pushed to the soccer world. It started when the government and the Jamboree Organizing Committee announced on the 11th that they would hold a K-pop concert and closing ceremony at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium, which had been scheduled to be held at the campsite.
Jeonju World Cup Stadium is the home 토토사이트 stadium of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Coincidentally, Jeonbuk was scheduled to play Incheon United on the 9th and the FA Cup semi-finals under the jurisdiction of the Korea Football Association, and the 26th round of the K League 1 with Suwon Samsung on the 12th.
Considering the time required to set up and dismantle the concert stage, the collapse of the game was inevitable. In a situation where lawn maintenance is not easy due to the hot and humid climate, such as damage to the ground, the postponement of the game schedule has no choice but to have a negative impact not only on Jeonbuk, but also on Incheon and Suwon.
Jeonbuk is a corporate team, but as the parent company, Hyundai Motor Group, actively cooperated with goods support and factory tours in emergency situations at the Jamboree, it became ambiguous to make an official position on the stadium rental.
Although the Korea Football Association and the Professional Federation have experienced postponements due to bad weather and other weather, it is the first time they have encountered an urgent schedule change due to an external event.
Although it is the entity that runs the tournament, the Football Association is in the position that Jeonbuk will make all decisions and then approve them, just looking at the rules. The main point is that all rights are delegated to the club hosting the home game until the quarterfinals.
An official in charge of the operation of the Korea Football Association said, “It was not an easy decision because it was an unprecedented situation. Around noon on the 7th, Jeonbuk and Incheon announced the postponement of the game by official letter.” uttered indirectly.
Of course, due to the influence of Typhoon Kanun, the K-pop concert and closing ceremony were arranged in Seoul instead of Jeonju World Cup Stadium. However, since it was already decided to postpone the game, Incheon also suffered losses, such as paying a penalty for canceling the accommodation. The plan to stay in Jeonju and play games came to nothing.
An official from the Incheon club said, “In the morning of this day, an official letter came from Jeonbuk about holding a neutral match at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium. Afterwards, around lunchtime, an official letter from the Football Association on the postponement of the FA Cup schedule came.” Then, the news of the change to Seoul came in. Both the players and staff were taken aback.”
Above all, the FA Cup regulations stipulate that if the home team is unable to operate the game, it must be played at the away team’s home stadium, and Incheon also had the right to speak, but the frustration increased as the Football Association only communicated the schedule change without discussion. The players have already returned to their homes after returning to Incheon.
It would be surprising if the Korea Football Association told us to play again on the 9th. In addition to considering the position of Jeonbuk-do Incheon, it has to go through various complicated situations such as refunding existing tickets and issuing new tickets. An official from Jeonbuk replied, “At this point, the official document of the Football Association is the final decision.”
Suwon, which has a large fan base, is similar. After the announcement of the postponement, it went through a cumbersome process such as canceling the accommodation, but at this point, it is likely that the event will be held normally. An official from Suwon indirectly conveyed that fans had to bear the full burden, saying, “Some fans made plans to watch the game during summer vacation, and some seemed to want to pay annual leave and stay in Jeonju the day after the game.”
The FA Cup final will be played on 1 and 4 November in home and away format. The Jeonbuk-Incheon game should be played during the week, but both teams have K-League 1 matches on Friday. Incheon has to play the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) playoffs on the 22nd. In other words, there is no date to enter unless it is the last Wednesday of this month. After the A-match break in September, it is more difficult in that there are ACL group leagues and Asian Games.