A South Korean female football referee is set to face a disciplinary hearing over allegations that she made a derogatory remark about former Chelsea midfielder Ji So-yun, referring to menstruation during a domestic women’s league match, the Korea Football Association (KFA) said Friday.

The incident occurred last month during a WK League match between Ji’s Suwon FC Women and Seoul City Hall. Ji confronted the referee after demanding a penalty for her team and was subsequently booked.

According to Ji, the referee said: “She’s been touchy since the start, she must be on her period.”

The KFA said its referee council had recognised the seriousness of the allegations and referred the case to its disciplinary committee. The association has not announced a date for the hearing.

The KFA’s refereeing department previously denied that the word “period” was used and said the comment was not specifically directed at Ji, broadcaster SBS reported.

The Korea Women’s Football Federation (KWFF), however, said the term used was “girl’s day”, a euphemism commonly used to refer to menstruation.

Ji told local media that she heard the referee make the remark through the communication system used by match officials.

The disciplinary committee will now examine the allegations and determine whether any action should be taken against the referee.