"It doesn’t seem that the sweat and efforts of the players will go to waste..." This statement by Kim Seung-hee, executive director of the Korea Football Association, leaves a heavy aftertaste. If they can postpone clear violations of regulations because of sweat and effort, what happens to the other 11 clubs in K League 1 that have shed the same sweat to uphold those regulations?

Kim Seung-hee, during an official press conference held at the football headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 21st, addressed questions regarding Gwangju FC’s unpaid solidarity contribution, saying, "It doesn’t seem that the players’ efforts and sweat will go to waste due to an administrative error rather than intention," adding, "We prioritized the stability of the league and the protection of players."

This is an incident that cannot simply be downplayed as an administrative mistake.

Gwangju remitted $3,000 (about 4.2 million won) in solidarity contribution when they acquired North Macedonian striker Asani last December, but the transfer was returned due to an error, and they registered players for 15 matches without realizing this fact. FIFA deemed this a clear violation of regulations and imposed a registration ban; the Korea Football Association was also informed but did not take appropriate action.

In this process, Executive Director Kim Seung-hee cited the justifications of 'player protection' and 'league stability,' but this logic could soon become a dangerous precedent justifying the collapse of fairness.

K League is a professional league in which 12 clubs compete under the same conditions. If even one team is allowed an exception regarding eligibility to compete, player registration, or transfer regulations, the fairness of the entire league collapses. Even if Gwangju's fault is true that it was an 'administrative error' and 'not intentional,' it does not change the essence that it ultimately broke the rules.

Then why have the remaining 11 clubs complied with the regulations and followed complex administrative procedures, meticulously processing compensation without omissions? Was it because they sweat less? No. They are parties who have upheld principles while constructing the league, even in conditions as tough as or tougher than Gwangju's.

Why are their efforts not protected?

FIFA has already introduced an automated compensation settlement system called the 'Clearing House' since November 2022. This system automatically calculates compensation details upon a transfer and directly remits it to the relevant clubs. By 2024, 88% of the total training compensation was processed through the Clearing House. In just two years, over 5,000 clubs worldwide benefited from this system, including countries with underdeveloped infrastructure like Paraguay and Ghana.

The Korea Football Association is still at the stage of being "in the process of establishing". After the Gwangju FC incident, the association sent a formal letter to FIFA and indicated that discussions regarding future responses were ongoing, but in the meantime, the league had already completed 15 matches, and the outcomes had accumulated.

In other words, FIFA did not blame the system’s failure. It only held accountable for the failure to apply it. Meanwhile, we reserved the consequences of the regulatory violation in light of administrative errors and the players' sweat and efforts.

During the press conference, Executive Director Kim Seung-hee stated, "Fairness is the most important aspect of football." However, the first word that emerged, at the moment when that fairness was challenged, was "sweat." The language of empathy is important. However, empathy cannot replace regulations.

Regulations are harsh. They save the entire league. There can be no value of sweat in a league that has lost fairness. Rather, it will only leave a wound of unfairness to the clubs that upheld the regulations.

Ultimately, the core of this incident is not whether Gwangju acted maliciously. It is a matter of how strictly the association can enforce regulations and whether it can trust the system over emotions in that judgment.

FIFA is proving that trust through the system. We are still talking about "sweat." K League is a league maintained by 'rules.' If exceptions can be made through effort, then who are these rules for?

[OSEN]