Ras (32, Suwon FC) has been severely punished for driving while intoxicated.
The Korean Professional Football Association (KPFA) announced on Tuesday that it held its 10th punishment committee and voted to suspend Suwon FC’s Ras for 15 games and fine him 4 million won.
This effectively bans the club from the K League 1 for the rest of the season.
After 25 rounds, the K League 1 has eight regular season games and five final round games remaining. Suwon FC will have to play two more games if they qualify for the relegation playoffs. However, Rath will be unavailable due to a 15-match suspension.
Rath was arrested for driving under the influence on July 7. According to the Gangnam Police Department in Seoul, he was pulled over in the early morning hours near Sinsa Station by police who responded to a report of a drunk driver. Rath, who was driving alone without a passenger, did not cause an accident, but was reportedly intoxicated at the time of his arrest.
Suwon FC held an emergency squad management meeting the next day on the 8th and immediately suspended Ras from team training and matches. However, unlike previous cases such as Jonatan Moya (formerly of Anyang), the club will not unconditionally terminate his contract.
Suwon FC explained, “In accordance with the opinion that unconditional termination of contracts, such as the recent cases of other clubs, is not helpful in preventing future recurrences, the club will once again hold a meeting of the club’s player management committee to make a final decision after the outcome of the federation’s penalty committee on August 10.”
Suwon FC is preparing other measures, including a conditional termination of the contract. This is because there are opinions that an unconditional termination may not be a big loss for the player.
In reality, if a foreign player leaves a team after a DUI and is terminated, he can simply find a new team overseas and transfer. They can also avoid any sanctions imposed by the Korean Football Association. This is why some people are worried that foreign players who want to leave the team may take advantage of the DUI termination.
Ras has scored nine goals this season, ranking fourth in the league behind In Ji-kyu, Bacco, and Na Sang-ho (11 goals apiece). Ras, who had been linked with a move, made a comeback in the derby against Suwon Samseong on May 5, scoring the winning goal 꽁머니사이트.
After meeting with coach Kim Do-gyun, he was finally convinced. However, upon his return, he suffered a major setback and threw cold water on the team’s eight-match winless streak.