‘Sono game winning shot’ LG Won-sang Yoon was a ‘negative player’… KBL admits to making a mistake

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Myeong-eon = In a professional basketball game between Changwon LG and Goyang Sono, an 'illegal player' who could not play on the court due to a misjudgment by the referee scored the winning goal.

The Sono team, which suffered a defeat due to an incorrect decision, strongly protested, demanding a rematch.

Sono made a dramatic final layup to LG Won-sang Yoon 3 seconds before the end of the game in the 2026-2027 KCC professional basketball regular league home game held at Sono Arena in Goyang on the 26th, losing 107-109.

However, Yoon Won-sang, the main scorer of the final, was a player who could not be put on the court due to regulations.

The situation in question occurred 6 seconds before the end of the game, right after LG Yang Hong-seok made a 2-point shot to take the lead to 107-105.

With Sono's request for operational time, both teams exchanged players. Sono replaced Kim Jin-yu with Lee Jae-do, and LG replaced Yoon Won-sang with Jang Min-guk.

Just as Sono was about to launch an attack after the game time, LG Kal Tamayo committed a foul with no game time, and Sono was awarded a free throw.

At this time, Sono tried to remove Lee Jae-do again and insert Kim Jin-yu before Johnny O'Bryant's free throw attempt, but the referee stopped it.

This is because, according to Article 19 of the KBL Game Rules, ‘Player Substitution’, ‘Players who have been substituted or replaced cannot enter the game or leave the court until the ball becomes dead again after the game time has run.’

Since the game clock was not running, the decision that Sono could not be replaced was correct.

The problem is that the referees did not apply the same principle to LG.

Immediately after O'Bryant hit both free throws to tie the score at 107-107, the LG bench again requested the reinsertion of Yoon Won-sang, and the referee accepted the request.

It was an obvious misjudgment that Yoon Won-sang, who had left the court before the game time had elapsed, re-entered the court.

As a result, Yoon Won-sang, who was not qualified to take the court, scored the winning goal, giving LG a dramatic victory.

Sono, which belatedly discovered the violation of the regulations, strongly protested. A Sono official said on the 27th, "We plan to send an official letter to KBL to formally raise the issue and request a rematch."

KBL also acknowledged the referee’s mistake.

A KBL official said, "Through the post-game report, we confirmed that the substitution was not possible according to the rules. We acknowledge our poor management, and will make every effort to replace players in the future and take steps to prevent recurrence, including disciplinary action against those involved."

However, he drew a line against Sono's request for a rematch. KBL dismissed the objection, saying, “According to regulations, objections must be raised within 20 minutes of the end of the game, so in principle, a rematch is not possible.”