"Professional Football Federation Suspension Invalid" Famous Referee... Court Rules "No Standing to Sue"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A referee who was suspended from K League referee assignments by the Korea Professional Football League filed a lawsuit against the league seeking to nullify the suspension decision but lost the case. The court recognized that K League referees are in a subordinate employment relationship with the Professional Football League but ruled that they do not have a guaranteed right to be assigned matches.

According to the legal community on the 27th, the Civil Division 20 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Hyungseok Kim) dismissed the lawsuit filed by well-known football referee Jang against the Professional Football League seeking confirmation of nullification of the resolution. Dismissal is a ruling that ends the trial without examining the merits when the lawsuit is not properly filed or the claim is not subject to the court's judgment.

Jang, who was an executive of the Referee Committee of the Korea Football Association in August 2018, was suspended from being assigned the remaining K League matches by the Referee Committee under the Professional Football League. The issue arose from a banner posted at the stadium where the K League match was held in July of that year, criticizing Referee Committee Chairman Jo for raising concerns about the referee assignment method. At that time, the Referee Committee decided that the banner violated the K League Referee Code of Conduct and resolved to suspend Jang from assignments. After his contract was terminated, Jang filed a lawsuit in July last year, about a year later.

During the trial, Jang argued that "the authority to suspend assignments is reserved for the Korea Football Association, not the league." He claimed that the Referee Committee under the league, which had no authority, expelling a referee was a procedural defect. Jang also explained, "The content of the problematic banner cannot be said to violate the K League Referee Code of Conduct," and denied involvement in posting the banner.

However, the court ruled that Jang's lawsuit was not proper. It held that Jang did not have any right or status to be guaranteed referee assignments for K League matches by the league in the first place, and thus lacked standing to file the lawsuit. The court stated, "Since 2015, the league has set up a pool of personnel and assigned referees to each match through an automated program. Referees included in the pool, including the plaintiff, have no rights or obligations with the league other than the assigned matches."

The court also dismissed Jang's claim for damages amounting to approximately 49 million KRW. The court ruled, "Since the plaintiff is not recognized as having the status to receive referee assignments, there is no need to further consider the claim for damages equivalent to lost income against the defendant."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.