The Falling High House has no wings. Jeonbuk Hyundai, which is in crisis, is shaking with its fans turning their backs on sluggish performance. The fate of Jeonbuk coach Kim Sang-sik, who became the focus of angry fans, became a lantern in the wind.
Jeonbuk suffered a 1-2 come-from-behind defeat in the Hana One Q K League 1 2023 Round 5 match against Pohang Steelers at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 1st. Jeonbuk, which was considered a strong candidate for the championship, had only 1 win (2 draws, 2 losses) until the 5th round, and fell to 8th place with 5 points.
As if reflecting the mood of the fans about the sluggish performance, Jeonbuk did not enjoy the home game advantage at all.안전놀이터 Jeonbuk supporters ‘MGB’ carried out a ‘boycott’ by not conducting official cheering at the home game that day. It was an expression of accumulated dissatisfaction with the team’s poor performance from last season and the management of the club.
In particular, fans’ criticism was focused on director Kim Sang-sik and CEO Heo Byeong-gil. Instead of shouting cheers for their own team, Jeonbuk home fans chanted the real names of the coach and representative and shouted ‘Get out’, and anti-calls were poured out, and banners of criticism were hung all over the stadium. On this day, as Pohang was reversed and the defeat deepened, the names of coaches Choi Kang-hee and Jose Morais, who led the heyday of Jeonbuk, were also chanted.
From Jeonbuk’s point of view, bad news overlapped. Right before the end of the second half, there was an unexpected situation where defender Park Jin-seop was transferred to the hospital due to bleeding in the head due to an injury during the game. As for Jeonbuk, they allowed Jeka a painful winning goal before rectifying the chaotic atmosphere in a situation where they were short of one person, so their luck did not follow them badly.
After the match, Jeonbuk coach Kim Sang-sik expressed his bitter feelings, saying, “It is an unacceptable result for Jeonbuk to lose 3 times in 5 matches. As a manager, I feel infinite responsibility.”
However, the bitter scene did not end with defeat alone. Immediately after the game, another unfortunate situation occurred in which the bus coach Kim Sang-sik boarded was blocked by angry fans and they could not leave the stadium and had a long confrontation.
Jeonbuk fans blocked the club bus back and forth and protested the team’s sluggish performance. Fans chanted director Kim Sang-shik’s name and demanded an explanation. When director Kim did not come out of the bus, some fans sat on the bus driveway and staged a sit-in. On-site security personnel and even the police were dispatched, but rather excited fans booed more.
At least an hour later, thanks to some concessions from the fans, only the bus carrying the players could leave the stadium, but the bus carrying coach Kim Sang-sik and the coaching staff was still there. After a long time passed, director Kim finally appeared in front of the fans. Fans asked manager Kim to take responsibility for his poor performance and to express his exact position.
Director Kim said, “If I have to take responsibility, I will take it”, but fans insisted on resigning, and voices of criticism poured in here and there. In the end, it wasn’t until 3 hours after the end of the game that the bus carrying coach Kim Sang-shik and coaching staff managed to leave the stadium, but nothing resolved the conflict between the two sides. The fans showed dissatisfaction by booing the bus to the end, and the expression of the club staff watching was dark.
Recently, in domestic professional football, ‘bus blocking’ and ‘director’s call’ are frequently occurring through collective actions of fans. It is being used as a way of collectively expressing opinions and exercising skills for fans who want to criticize or raise questions about the club. Recently, however, concerns have arisen that the level and frequency have all gone too far and turned into a means of one-sided venting of anger and disgrace.
Even on this day, the series of scenes left behind leave a bitter feeling. A young fan who stood in front of the club’s bus stopped calling the manager’s name in short words and continued to ridicule and personal attacks. A lot of fans chimed in here.
Swept away by the atmosphere, even the children’s fans in Jeonbuk uniforms shouted ‘Kim Sang-shik come out’, and instead applauded and cheered. As the club bus tried to move slightly, a dangerous scene was created in which some fans lay down right in front of the wheel of the car. Some fans even broadcast the situation live on YouTube or social media as entertainment.
Fans criticized director Kim Sang-sik, who seldom shows up despite repeated calls, calling him “cowardly and frustrating.” But what was frustrating was the fans as well. Even when director Kim appeared, he was not prepared for a conversation at all.
After all, losing is ‘I’ll just do my best. I have nothing else to say except ‘I’m sorry’. And even though the director was forced to stand up, no one really listened to the director’s words properly. Normal communication was impossible in the first place due to emotional questions and booing pouring in here and there in disorder, and the voice of the director’s clarification was also buried. It’s a bittersweet scene that reveals that he put the director in front of a crowd from the start and only wanted to ridicule and vent his anger.
Of course, the biggest responsibility for poor grades should be taken by the manager and the club. The dissatisfaction of Jeonbuk fans toward manager Kim Sang-shik is not a problem that happened in a day or two, and it is not a reaction that cannot be understood.
However, nothing is improved by holding a sit-in every time, blocking the road, putting pressure on the players, and humiliating the manager. It just deepens the emotions.
Fans’ voices are important, but there are certain lines and distances that must be followed. It seems necessary to reconsider the recent phenomenon in professional football where fans’ indiscreet group actions and skill exercises have been abused as if they were ‘obvious rights or customs’.