'Controversy over sexual entertainment of referees': Japan Football Association president speaks out, "Verifying facts at the association level"

*This content was translated by AI.

Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (49), President of the Japan Football Association, stated regarding allegations that Japanese referees previously received sexual entertainment from the Korea Football Association, "We are verifying the facts at the Japan Football Association level."

According to Japanese media outlets including Tokyo Sports and Chunichi Sports on the 12th, President Miyamoto made these remarks after meeting with reporters following his attendance at an event held in Tokyo, Japan.

While no further details were provided beyond the statement that facts are being verified, it was confirmed once again through President Miyamoto that the Japan Football Association is indeed conducting an internal investigation.

Local media also reported that "the Japan Football Association plans to investigate the four Japanese referees involved in the allegations and then release the results."

Previously, a controversy erupted after it became known that the Korea Football Association had provided sexual entertainment to over 10 foreign referees who visited South Korea from March 2011 to March of the following year for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil qualifiers, the 2012 London Olympics qualifiers, and friendly matches involving the A national team and Olympic representative team.

These facts were uncovered through a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit in 2016, four to five years after the sexual entertainment occurred, but remained undisclosed by the Ministry until recent media reports about ten years later brought them to light.

In particular, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit identified that the Japanese match officials involved in the sexual entertainment consisted entirely of Japanese referees for both the head referee and two assistant referees positions, sparking controversy within the Japanese football community as well.

For example, on March 25, 2011, during the match against Honduras, referee Ryuji Sato served as the head referee, while Tomokazu Tajiri and Shin'ya Iribe served as assistant referees respectively; this officiating team also officiated the friendly match between the Olympic representative teams of South Korea and China two days later.

Coincidentally, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit results, the KFA provided sexual entertainment to three referees each before and after the Honduras and China matches; in both games, three of the four officiating team members were Japanese referees, with the remaining one being a Korean referee.

Furthermore, during the 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifier against Kuwait the following year, Yuichi Nishimura served as the head referee, and there was also an instance where all four members of the officiating team, including two assistant referees and the fourth official, were of Japanese nationality. At that time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism confirmed that sexual entertainment from the KFA was provided to two of these referees.

Within Japan, there is a prevailing atmosphere of shock not only over the past fact of the KFA providing sexual entertainment to referees but also over the established reality that some of the referees who received such entertainment were their own nationals.

Tokyo Sports reported, "In the matches under suspicion, South Korea achieved five wins and two draws without a single defeat, yet Japanese referees were among those implicated." The outlet added, "As reports from media outlets around the world spread the impact, attention is focused on how far the truth behind this scandal that has shocked the football community will be uncovered."

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*This content was translated by AI.