Substitution rule switcheroo by refs blights Gangwon FC’s loss in AFC Champions League Elite
An attempt to bring on a pair of fresh players in extra time was rebuffed by the referees, who appeared to get the laws wrong as Gamba Osaka sealed a 1-0 win.
Gangwon FC players show their disappointment after losing in an AFC Champions League Elite playoff at Gangneung Stadium in Gangwon on Aug. 12.
K LEAGUE
A staid, goalless 90 minutes in Gangwon FC's continental competition match against Japan's Gamba Osaka on Tuesday gave way to chaos on the touchline as tensions flared when the Korean club attempted to make a substitution in extra time, only for the referees to lay down the laws of the game.
Except it appears that they got them wrong.
The Japanese side's 1-0 win in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) top club tournament, the AFC Champions League Elite, was marred by an apparent misunderstanding of the rules governing substitutions as Gangwon manager Jeong Kyeong-ho attempted to bring on Lee Ji-ho and Kim Do-hyun for Kang Joon-hyuck and Seo Min-woo at the start of extra time, only to be denied by the fourth official, who appeared to take issue with the attempt to bring on two pairs of fresh legs at the same time.
Under Champions League Elite rules, teams are permitted to bring on five substitutes across three stoppages during regular time. In extra time, an additional substitution is permitted. Gangwon had brought on three subs in the first 90 minutes, leaving them with three more; two left over from regulation time and the additional one permitted during the extra 30 minutes.
However, the fourth official appeared to interpret the rule dictating the extra time change — which says, "One additional substitute and one additional substitution opportunity may be used when a match goes into extra time" — to mean that only one player can be brought in one stoppage in extra time.
After protests from the Gangwon technical area, the official consulted with the referee, but nothing came of it, and neither the match commissioner nor the referee assessor intervened.
Only after the Korean club repeatedly pressed the issue did officials allow the change to go ahead, late in the first half of extra time — but by then, the deciding goal had already been scored.
Gamba Osaka took the lead in the 103rd minute, when Gaku Nawata converted a cross from Ryoya Yamashita. Kang, the defender Gangwon had been trying to take off, had lost Nawata as the cross came in.
The loss demoted Gangwon to the second-tier AFC Champions League Two for next season.
The club filed an informal protest with the Asian football governing body within two hours of the final whistle and plans to submit a formal letter of protest within 24 hours of the match.
"Who would have imagined a referee wouldn't know the rules at an international tournament?" said a member of the Gangwon backroom staff.
BY PARK LIN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
