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Soccer Is Back In South Korea: From New FIFA Rules To COVID-19 Testing, Here's What To Expect

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Soccer leagues around the world are trying to work out how to get started again after the COVID-19 pandemic. Games have already resumed in Taiwan and the next place that soccer will resume is South Korea.

With the outbreak under control and the number of new cases dropping below ten a day, life in South Korea seems in many ways like it is back to normal. As a result, the K League, South Korea's professional soccer league, will begin its season behind closed doors on Friday, May 8th.

Media Rights

The K League has confirmed it will be broadcast in several countries around the world, with other countries in negotiations with the league's global rights distributor, Sportradar. So far China and Hong Kong as well as several European countries have done deals to show the league, and channels from the U.S., Australia, France and Germany are are among those reportedly still in negotiations.

Although the K League will be the strongest league to be playing games for a few weeks at least, it is still several steps below Europe's top leagues, so might not attract that many casual fans from outside of Asia. Kick off times don't fall kindly for viewers on the U.S. East Coast, but some games are at suitable times for fans on the West Coast or in Europe to tune in.

Preventing COVID-19

South Korea's two tiers of professional soccer run their seasons through the summer, and were due to begin this season at the start of March. That start was delayed due to COVID-19, but some clubs did play Asian Champions League matches in February before soccer was put on ice.

At the time of those Asian Champions League matches, there were already a few COVID-19 cases in South Korea, so fans had to fill in a health statement and have their temperature checked before admission. They also had to use hand sanitizer before entering the stadium and wear a mask throughout the game.

It turned out that at least one person with COVID-19 attended Suwon Bluewings' match against Japanese team Vissel Kobe. That match was well attended as fans braved the cold to watch Kobe's Andres Iniesta in action, but the measures in place seem to have prevented a spike in cases related to the match.

If there isn't another major outbreak in the country, fans in Korea expect to be back in the stands sooner rather than later, but for now, the league will kick off behind closed doors.

The K League has taken some extra measures to prevent the spread of the virus, including testing every K League player and match official for COVID-19. Teams with a player testing positive would have had to undergo a two-week quarantine, but luckily, the results for all the players came out negative on Friday. Should a player have suspected symptoms of the virus during the season, the player will be removed from the matchday squad.

The league have also laid out in writing what to do in regards to the final league table and Champions League places should it be suspended due to another outbreak later in the year.

New FIFA / IFAB Rules

As well as those special measures, the league's rules will be a little bit different than before. This is because the league will introduce IFAB's new soccer rules, which are supposed to come into effect around the world from June.

The new rules tidy up two of the major points of contention from last summer's soccer tournaments. In the new rules, should a goalkeeper come off the line during a penalty kick, they will only receive a verbal warning at first (rather than receiving a yellow card straight away). Accidental handballs that lead to a goal will also only result in the goal being disallowed if they come directly before the goal-scoring opportunity.

K League 2020 Primer

South Korea's K League has two divisions, with relegation and promotion between them. Some of the clubs are owned by South Korea's huge conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai, who used to pour money into the teams but have cut back in recent years, while most of the other teams are owned by the local governments.

Due to the delay to the start of this season, the teams will play a shorter season, with the 12 teams in the top tier playing each other twice (instead of the usual three times), before the league splits in two and the top and bottom six each play each other one final time.

Here is a quick preview of the opening fixtures:

Jeonbuk Motors v Suwon Bluewings - Friday May 8th, 7PM (11AM in London)

The K League season kicks off on Friday night with last year's champions Jeonbuk Motors taking on last year's FA Cup winners Suwon Bluewings. Jeonbuk, whose side is packed with Korean internationals and former Premier League and Bundesliga players, have been the dominant force in Korean soccer over recent years. But they found last year somewhat more difficult under new manager Jose Morais.

Morais has previously managed Barnsley FC in England and AEK Athens in Greece, as well as being Jose Mourinho's assistant for many years. He replaced long-time Jeonbuk manager Choi Kang-hee, who left for China and is currently at Shanghai Shenhua. After one of the tightest title races in years, Jeonbuk eventually finished the season top on goals scored, with Ulsan Hyundai finishing in second.

Suwon Bluewings made up for their disaster of a season last year by winning the FA Cup, which was so full of upsets that Suwon ended up playing 3rd and 4th tier opposition from the quarter-finals onward. The difference-maker for them is Australian international striker Adam Taggart, but North American fans might want to keep their eyes on the Bluewings' new signing, Canadian international Doneil Henry.

Ulsan Hyundai v Sangju Sangmu - Saturday May 9th, 2PM (Friday 10PM in Los Angeles)

Ulsan came so close to their first title in over a decade last season, falling right at the end to Jeonbuk. Despite losing some key players in the winter, they have brought in some strong replacements, including goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo, whose heroics helped South Korea beat Germany at the Russia 2020 World Cup, as well as former Bolton Wanderers and Crystal Palace midfielder Lee Chung-yong.

Sangju Sangmu are South Korea's army team. Their squad is made up of players who are on their mandatory military service, and are all technically on loan from another club in the K League. Current squadees include Moon Seon-min, who played for his country at Russia 2020, and Oh Se-hun, who is expected to be one of the next big things in Korean soccer. Unfortunately for Sangmu, the city of Sangju don't want them any more, so they will automatically be relegated this season and will also have to find a new home for next season.

Incheon United v Daegu FC - Saturday 4:30PM (8:30AM in London)

Daegu have been the surprise package of the last couple of seasons, while Incheon United always seem to be miles adrift at the bottom of the league a third of the way through the season, before miraculously escaping relegation on the final day. There's not much to suggest that Incheon won't struggle again this season, while Daegu seemed to stagnate towards the end of last season.

Gwangju FC v Seongnam FC - Saturday 7PM (10AM in London)

Gwangju are back in the top flight after promotion from the K League 2 last season, and at some point this season will have a new stadium of sorts to go with it, although unlike Daegu and Incheon's new purpose-built stadiums, Gwangju's appears to have more in common with the temporary stands that many K League sides use so that supporters don't have to watch matches from the other side of a running track. Seongnam are one of those sides with a temporary stand behind the goal, which features a giant robotic magpie that rises up from behind it during the match.

Pohang Steelers v Busan IPark - Sunday May 10th, 2PM (Saturday 10PM in Los Angeles)

After a strong end to the season, Pohang narrowly missed out on an Asian Champions League spot on goal difference to FC Seoul. After four seasons in the K League 2, Busan won promotion through the playoffs last season, ensuring South Korea's second city has a team in the top flight, and opposition fans have a nice away day at the seaside.

Gangwon FC v FC Seoul - Sunday 4:30PM (8:30AM in London)

Rural Gangwon Province might be miles away from the bright lights of Korea's cities, but their side played some of the most attractive soccer of the league last season, and their games are usually full of goals at either end. FC Seoul started last season well, but in the end just scraped an Asian Champions League place, although that was a big step up from the relegation fight the capital club found themselves in the previous season.

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