It was literally a war. An unsavory incident occurred during the final “super match” of the season between FC Seoul and Suwon Samsung. The Korean Professional Football Association will look into the matter and discuss the possibility of further punishment.
An official from the KFA told Sports Chosun on the 27th, “We will hold a match evaluation committee on the 28th for the final five round matches held on the 24th and 25th. At the meeting, we will also look into the possibility of holding an additional punishment committee for the incidents that occurred in the matches between Seoul and Suwon.”
It was the 25th. Seoul and Suwon faced off in the fifth round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 Final at Seoul World Cup Stadium. The matchup between the two teams is one of the most iconic rivalries in the K League. It has the honor of being called a “supermatch. The stadium was packed with 36,077 fans.
The game was as hot as ever. The fate of the away team, Suwon, was on the line. Before this game, Suwon was in last place with 29 points. At this rate, they would be automatically relegated to the K League 2 (2nd Division) next season. There was only one option for Suwon: a win.
The lid was lifted. Suwon broke the ‘0’ with a goal from Bassani in the 18th minute of the second half. The game became even more heated. Rough fights broke out in the process. Players became more agitated, and in the last minute of the game, players from both teams had a nervous breakdown. Even the coaches on the bench got involved, resulting in a “bench clearing”. The problems didn’t end there. The tension escalated to violence. As Seoul’s acting head coach Kim Jin-kyu said, “The players didn’t need to get excited in front of so many fans. There were a lot of young fans, too, and they shouldn’t have shown that kind of behavior.”
On the 27th, a Suwon official said, “First of all, Jeon Jin-woo, who was injured on the day of the game, was examined at a hospital. After the game, he went straight to a major hospital for a CT scan. Fortunately, it was not a concussion. However, he was told that he needs to be stabilized. He is currently resting. Ko Seung-bum was hit in the temple by an opponent during a scuffle. He is in shock. We are collecting evidence about the violent incident on the field. We will send a formal letter to the Korean Football Association.”