In the 24th round of the 2026 Chinese Super League, the Tianjin Jinmen Tiger hosted the Wuhan Three Towns in a relegation six-pointer, and multiple calls by South Korean referee Kim Woo-sung sparked huge controversy. Although the Chinese Football Association deliberately assigned a foreign referee to officiate this match to enhance the credibility of key fixtures, discussions about "missed penalty" and "offside miscall" rapidly fermented on social media after the game. The match featured at least two suspected controversial calls, involving a handball in Wuhan Three Towns' penalty area and an offside goal by Tianjin Jinmen Tiger at key junctures, directly affecting the relegation landscape. As of press time, the Chinese Football Association had not announced the referee review result for this match, but this round of relegation battle once again brought the CSL refereeing credibility crisis to the fore amid the penalty issues.
In the 34th minute, a Tianjin Jinmen Tiger forward shot inside the penalty area, and the ball hit a Wuhan Three Towns defender's arm and bounced out for a goal kick. Tianjin players collectively raised their hands signaling handball, but referee Kim Woo-sung did not call it, nor did VAR intervene. According to live footage, the defender's arm was not close to the body, suggesting an expanded defensive area. Under the 2025/26 version of the Laws of the Game, if a defender's arm unnaturally enlarges the body and the ball hits the arm, a penalty should be awarded. But the refereeing team held that the ball was in a "natural position of the arm" or "ball-to-hand," and did not recognize it. After the match, Tianjin fans widely shared slow-motion replays on social media, arguing this was a clear missed call.
In the 67th minute, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger scored from a quick counterattack, but the assistant referee raised the flag for offside. From the broadcast slow-motion, at the moment of the pass the Tianjin receiving player was almost level with the last Wuhan Three Towns defender, but Kim Woo-sung upheld the offside call after hearing the VAR assistant referee's opinion. Wuhan Three Towns felt it was a good goal, while Tianjin argued the call was correct. Screenshots from different angles sparked fierce debate online, with some fans pointing to "hairline offside" suspicions in the VAR line.
Former Chinese Football Association chairman Chen Xuyuan once said the CSL refereeing accuracy rate reached 98%, but a 2% error could ruin a team's year of effort. Relegation battles directly decide a team's fate, so the association's requirement for referee accuracy in key matches is nearly 100%. Long-standing controversies around domestic referees mean even normal miscalls are often suspected of being malicious. Foreign referees have no historical ties or personal networks with CSL clubs, making their calls more readily accepted and understood by all sides. Since the 2026 season, the association has deployed foreign head referees in multiple marquee fixtures, indicating the introduction of foreign referees has moved from "emergency" to "mechanism."
