Respecting the judgment of the Korea Football Association, FIFA delivers its position on the qualification of Gwangju FC players → Sanctions should be notified that they will not be applied

Jun 26, 2025

FIFA delivered its position on the decision made by the Korea Football Association (KFA) against Gwangju FC.

On the 26th, the KFA released the contents of FIFA's official letter. As a result of reviewing the qualifications of Gwangju FC players, FIFA made it clear that the judgment of players' qualifications at domestic competitions should be made in accordance with the regulations and authority of the KFA.

Gwangju recruited a player in January and was embroiled in a controversy over the input of fraudulent players despite being banned from registering players for failing to pay Asani's solidarity contributions to FIFA on time. The Korea Football Association said on this matter that 'This case was caused by an unintentional administrative mistake, so it is difficult to judge the Gwangju players who participated in the game so far as 'unqualified players'. Rather than overturning the results of the last game by defining the players as unqualified, we believe it is more important to recognize the results of the games so far to ensure the qualification of players without attributable reasons and to ensure the stability of the tournament and league.

FIFA also expressed its position on the decision. FIFA stated that the players were registered through the domestic system during the KFA winter transfer period in 2025 and continued to participate in official tournaments without any objection from the KFA"From the standpoint of Gwangju FC, we can judge that the players are qualified to participate."

Therefore, FIFA stated that it is up to the KFA to decide the situation, and FIFA believes that the KFA should maintain the qualifications of the players and notify the other clubs that protested that sanctions will not apply to the results of the games in which the players participated.

Accordingly, the policy set by the Korea Football Association in May that `Gwangju FC players cannot be regarded as unqualified players, and the results of Gwangju FC's last game are recognized for the stability of the competition and the league.' was also recognized through the FIFA Secretariat.

However, FIFA said, `This FIFA's position is only an administrative interpretation, and further disciplinary review and necessary procedures can be carried out against KFA or Gwangju FC that violate the registration ban regulations in the future," he added. However, even if such a measure is taken, it will not affect the qualifications of the players or the results of the matches already played.

Meanwhile, the Korea Football Association has already started to improve its work procedures to prevent the recurrence of such a situation, and will provide technical supplements to ensure fair player registration and qualification management.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.