Jeonju: An Argentine assistant coach for the South Korean football champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors offered to resign Tuesday, citing his frustration over being labeled a racist following an on-field incident and a subsequent suspension.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Jeonbuk said coach Mauricio Taricco decided to step down after the end of this season, after the Korea Professional Football League (K League) slapped him with a five-match suspension and a fine of 20 million won (US$13,615) last Wednesday for his action during a match on Nov. 8.
Taricco argued referee Kim Woo-seong's decision not to call a handball violation on an opposing player. The coach was initially shown a yellow card, and Kim ejected Taricco with a red card moments later, as the coach kept arguing even after a penalty was awarded to Jeonbuk following a video review.
After being shown the red card, Taricco placed his two index fingers next to the corners of his eyes. Kim felt it had been a racist, "slanted-eye" gesture and reported the incident to the K League's disciplinary committee. The committee then sided with Kim and ruled that Taricco had indeed made a racist move, despite the coach's assertion that he had no such intent and he only wanted to ask Kim if he hadn't seen the disputed play in real time.
The committee said the generally accepted meaning of the slanted-eye gesture and how Kim perceived it took precedence over the intent that Jeonbuk claimed the coach had. The K League's ruling has divided the football community. Generally discontent with referees in the K League, fans have accused Kim of making baseless charges against the coach when the gesture was clearly not racist, and have also criticized the league for not improving the quality of officiating.
In a statement released by Jeonbuk, Taricco said it was "with a heavy heart" that he has decided to leave the club after this season. It was his first campaign with Jeonbuk, as he joined head coach Gus Poyet's staff and helped them to their league-record 10th championship. "The context of the situation, and the cultural expression and meaning that I've continuously tried to explain have been disregarded," the coach said. "With one moment of misunderstanding, I've been labeled a racist by the so-called authorities."
Jeonbuk said Taricco had been dealing with an undue amount of mental distress and they hoped his name will be cleared as soon as possible. To that end, Jeonbuk decided to appeal the league's ruling Tuesday. "We express our deep regret over the league's decision on coach Taricco's action and the background behind it," the club said. "We felt that all the facts and intent had to be closely reviewed once again and we decided to take steps to appeal the decision."