Volleyball Federation Disciplines Referee Who Did Not Sanction Kim Yeon-koung's Behavior

On the afternoon of the 11th, a match between Heungkuk Life and GS Caltex in the Dodram 2020-2021 V-League Women's Volleyball was held at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul.
In the second set, Heungkuk Life's Kim Yeon-koung, after being blocked by GS Caltex center Kim Yu-ri and conceding a point, slammed the ball hard onto the court. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] The Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) disciplined referee Kang Joo-hee on the 12th for not issuing a warning when Kim Yeon-koung of Heungkuk Life pulled the net during a volleyball match.

The Volleyball Federation announced that the rule application by referee Kang Joo-hee, who was the second-round referee in the Dodram 2020-2021 V-League women's volleyball match between Heungkuk Life and GS Caltex held at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on the 11th, was incorrect. The federation stated, "Referee Kang Joo-hee did not penalize Kim Yeon-koung for her action in front of the net and continued the game," adding, "This was judged to be an incorrect application of the rules, and in accordance with Article 1, Clause 6 of the Federation's disciplinary and penalty standards (for referees and professional committee members), a fine was imposed on referee Kang."

Furthermore, the federation said, "We requested the Heungkuk Life team to prevent aggressive behavior by players and to conduct thorough education to prevent recurrence," and added, "We also informed the other men's and women's teams of this matter and urged them to educate their players."

During the closely contested 5th set of the match, Kim Yeon-koung pulled the net after her attack was blocked by the opposing team. At that time, referee Kang interpreted this action not as an attempt to provoke the opposing team but as an expression of frustration directed at herself, and therefore did not issue a separate warning.

Earlier, in the 2nd set, Kim Yeon-koung had also received a verbal warning from the referee after forcefully throwing the ball to the floor following her attack being blocked.

In response, GS Caltex coach Cha Sang-hyun criticized, "Is it okay to shake the net like that?" and said, "The referee should have issued a warning in some form."

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