hankyoreh

Soccer Commentator

"In this politically manipulated World Cup, referee Im Un-Ju should disclose why it was an offsides play."

On June 27, Sin Mun-seon, soccer commentator for Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), was enjoying a morning stroll in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Preparing to do commentary for the upcoming Australia-Italy match, his thoughts were on the game. Suddenly, a phone call came in from Seoul. It was SBS. "Due to the national displeasure with your commentary on the offsides issue, we have to ask you to stop broadcasting. This is an unavoidable decision, made for your protection."

The words were unbelievable to Sin. He could not help but inquire as to what in the world these ’feelings of national displeasure’ were. "Everyone thinks that it was a bad call..." he was told. He recalled the moment in question, during the South Korea vs. Switzerland bout on June 24. "The ball hit [Korean player] I-ho’s feet before moving ahead to [Swiss player] Frei, so it is not offsides. Thus it seems that the Swiss goal has been acknowledged [by the officials]." The only memory that came to mind was of him laboring to provide commentary with the composure and presence of mind of a soccer specialist with forty years of accumulated experience on the sport.

It was hard to comprehend, but there was no means of changing the determination already made by the broadcasting company. He skipped breakfast that morning and promptly packed his luggage, putting himself on an airplane bound for Korea. Though the final match was scheduled for July 10, his assignment was cut short midway through the games.

For a man who regarded his 20-year career of soccer commentating as his personal calling, this day was the most humiliating of his life. In his June 30 phone interview with Hankyoreh21, he did not divulge his personal emotions except to say they were "complicated," but without hesitation, he poured forth words directed at the World Cup frenzy that has engulfed the South Korea’s fans and media.

Q. When did you return [to Korea]?

A. I received the notice from SBS and then returned the next day. I had already grown distant from the company. The broadcast company spoke of feelings of displeasure held by the people, but those criticizing me were but one group of netizens. What kind of culture is it where the broadcast company calls these people’s opinions a reflection of national sentiment and gives me the pink slip? I made the right commentary, so it’s not right for the broadcast company to talk about the displeasure of the people. The company made a terrible decision.

The important thing here is that this isn’t merely my personal issue. There is a culture spreading in Korean society where the words of specialists are denounced by interest groups on the internet. I worry about this ailment of soccer insanity. Even though Germany is the host country, it is hard to find posters about the games outside of the soccer stadium. They enjoy the game, but we descend into an atmosphere of demagoguery and warfare. The victim of this is none other than me. We must fix this misguided soccer culture. It has reached the level of being absurd and disturbing. The silent majority agrees with my accurate and clear commentary, and really sees things that way.

Q. Your position remains unchanged, that there was no offsides on the play?

A. There was no offsides on the play. FIFA said so as well. Even if I watch it again, I see that there is no offsides. The role of a commentator is in accurately analyzing the rules and situation. There is a rule in place, but I must match with the people’s feelings and call an offsides? Must I conform to the national mood? There is no room for compromise in my convictions.

Soccer is a sport that proceeds according to the rules. Yet we are ignoring FIFA and those rules. It is wrong to denounce someone because the results were [not satisfying]... The rules are a criterion by which to observe the game. Unlike basketball, soccer has but a single chief referee. Even if the line referee raises his flag, the judgment comes down to the chief referee. Were the same situation to happen again, I would, based upon the rules, still judge the play not to be offsides.

Q. Can you be so certain it was not offsides? Some claim that it was indeed offsides.

A. Not only FIFA, but Cheon Yeong-Hyeon, a member of the Asian Football Confederation, analyzed the video and declared the player not to be offsides. An offsides call is something difficult for most people to understand. So President Cheong Mong-chun of the Korean Football Association or the Referee’s Association has to speak up when the people react irrationally. But I was quite disappointed to see articles written to agitate the people.

The majority of referees and specialists think that it was not offsides. The fact that it wasn’t offsides is widely known, but no one has the courage to say out loud that it wasn’t offsides. Referee of international soccer Im Un-ju spread word that the offsides call was correct. This is something I want to say to her directly, but as she is a referee of international soccer, she needs to clarify her basis for rationally claiming that there was an offsides play. I’m not trying to attack her. I’m saying she should try to clearly explain this and contribute to the depth of soccer [as a sport].

The commentators who cried out that the referee was a fraud became heroes. They were treated as ["true" Koreans], whose veins flow with the blood of their countrymen. As a commentator, I fulfilled my responsibility of clearly explaining why the goal was recorded as such. I cannot logically comprehend the criticism made of me.

Q. Do you see the Korean Football Association as conforming to the national sentiment?

A. Rather than conforming, President Chung Mong-Chun fed the flames of national emotion by promising to file a complaint with the FIFA. Why does President Chung not make a comment in regards to the results of these procedures? He must explain so that the people may be satisfied by the results of the objection that he lodged. But since that time, he has not uttered a single word.

Now that time has passed, the Korean Football Association should be expanding knowledge of the rules and the joy of soccer, but far from it, they are instigating conflict through a band of trumpeters and have come up with an analysis entirely different from that of FIFA. I’m also suspicious that the Korean Football Association has brought up the [offsides issue] for fear of being criticized [in the failure of the national team to reach the next round]. There are some who are using soccer for political purposes. Yet [the Korean Football Association and other groups] have failed to deal with the issue as adults. Honestly, KFA Chairman I Hoi-tek should have said, just as [player] Park Ji-seong said after the match that, that "it is just part of soccer." When [French player] Vieira’s shot was blocked by goalie Lee Un-jae behind the goal line and subsequently not recognized as a goal, French coach Domenech said "it is just part of the game." But in our country, the only response heard [in regards to the referee’s call] is "How in the world can that be?"

Q. You referred to the World Cup craze as a problem...

A. I have done World Cup broadcasting since 1990. But as the years go by, the soccer excitement is being carried off on a strange wind. It is dangerous if things continue in this manner. The broadcast companies, too, have a responsibility. Their responsibility is especially large in regards to the dispute over the offsides judgment. The media assigned the blame for the loss [of the Korean team] to the offsides issue and stirred up this atmosphere. Of course there were bad calls. It is evident that in particular, those countries outside of Europe suffer a disadvantage in the calls made. However in our case, the problem was a lack of skill. It was necessary to cool-headedly analyze the causes of our defeat and mentally prepare for the next time.

Q. As I recall, the phrase "sore losers" was being thrown around in 2002...

A. We ignored the process and sought only results. Think of 2002. When the countries that lost to us [Spain, Italy, etc.] presented objections to the referee’s calls, we called them "sore losers making pathetic protests," but now that we’ve lost, we freely [complain and] use foul language.

Is it a crime to be a commentator? If I’m criticized, despite having knowledge and a [scholar’s dedication], as well as despite having made the correct call, then who will dare take the mike and commentate? The three valued elements of sports are the stadium, the players, and the referee, but what is next if we start personally debasing the referee? When the Swiss ascended to the next round, we derided and criticized them. There was even the pathetic call made by one [Korean] commentator of "handling" after the opposing team’s free kick hit the hand of a Swiss player protecting his own groin.