National Team Match:

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Japan 1 - 0 China

Date: February 20, 2008 Location: Chongqing, China Japan 1 1 1H 0 0 2H 0 0 China Koji Yamase (18') Scoring Yuji Nakazawa Keita Suzuki Cautions Shu Yun Lon Zon Lei Lee Wi Feng Ju Tae In Seigo Narazaki, Atsuto Uchida, Yuji Nakazawa, Yasuyuki Konno, Yuichi Komano (Akira Kaji 46), Keita Suzuki, Yasuhito Endo, Michihiro Yasuda (Naotake Hanyu 59), Kengo Nakamura, Koji Yamase (Hideo Hashimoto 89), Yuzo Tashiro TBA

SHAME!

That is exactly what everyone associated with this ridiculous farce masquerading as a football tournament deserves. Shame Shame SHAME!

Shame on those craven, spiteful, hateful vipers who despite the withering scorn of every fair-minded sports fan on the planet and despite even the desperate pleas of their own government still insist on booing and whistling during the Japanese national anthem. Shame on the TV broadcasters who turned down the volume to try to muffle the sound of those jeers (though the sudden change in volume immediately after the anthem ended mate that little ruse all the more galling). Shame on the so-called "fans" who have so little dignity that they would actually boo and jeer a player who has to be stretchered off to the locker room due to injury. Shame on every one of you. If, by some miracle, you should some day develop even the faintest understanding of the concept of "sportsmanship", I siincerely hope you drown in the shame of the display you put on, Wednesday night. Shame and double shame on those 200 or 300 idiots who actually had the temerity to throw water bottles and various other debris towards the pitch in the final minutes of this match. In any civilized country, those actions will get you arrested and banned from football matches for the rest of your life. Shame on you -- and be thankful that you DONT live in a civilized country.

Shame on the Chinese players. Shame on you! Every one of you should be hanging your heads in gut-wrenching shame. Because I suspect that most of you actually know better. Shame on you for turning a football contest into a kick-boxing match. Shame on you for deliberately trying to injure your opponents. Shame! Shame! SHAME! Shame, in particvular, on the Chinese keeper, who deliberately and calculatedly spiked Michhinori Yasuda in the ribcage as he was completely extended after kicking the ball. It now appears that you were lucky, and that vicious, completely unwarranted act of violence did not cause any permanent damage to a talented and extremely promising youngster. If it had, you would have been forced to wear that shame for the rest of your life. But even if he did escape serious injury, words can hardly express how shameful that sort of action was. SHAME on you!

Shame on the North Korean referee, who seemed to think that there was nothing shameful in deliberately ignoring the violence being committed on the pitch. Shame on the linesmen, who could have expressed their dismay as well, but chose not to. Perhaps it is useless to cry shame, since by all appearances, all four of you are utterly shameless. But shame just the same! The video highlights of this match will soon be all over the Internet -- and rest assured, the Rising Sun News will be among those distributing them. When the world sees how shamefully you acted, and what complete disregard you showed for the principles of fair play and sportsmanship, I sincerely hope that every one of you is banned from officiating for the remainder of your natural life. Anyone who wears an official's uniform should be ashamed as well, simply for being associated with such tomfoolery. Shame on you all. Shame on the entire refereeing proffession -- until such time as the honest referees in the AFC (if there indeed are any) stand up and insist that the AFC and FIFA permanently ban those who are sullying the reputation of referees in general.

Shame on the Chinese Football Association, for allowing this sort of thing to take place on your watch. If you had any self-respect at all, you would have learned the lessons of the 2004 Asian Cup and done everything in your power to ensure that this sort of spectacle would not occur again. Shame on you. Shame on the idiots in every national federation who insist on turning a blind eye to these shameful events, which seem to take place almost any time that a major tournament is held in Asia these days. Shame on the AFC for sanctioning this tournament, and above all, Shame on the JFA, for continuing to take part in the East Asian Confederation, when it is obvious to one and all that these tournaments offer Japanese football nothing except the chance to lose highly promising young players to serious inury.

Shame on the TV broadcasters who continue to try to laugh off or downplay the travesty that is taking place in front of their eyes. If I hear one more announcer comment "Boy, this is really an AWAY match ". . . as if deliberate fouling with intent to cause injury, and the referee's decision to blithely ignore such vicious fouls, is somehow "normal" when a team plays an away match, Im liable to kick in my TV screen. When have you EVER seen a match in Europe, South America . . . or anywhere else for that matter . . . where one player DELIBERATELY kicks another in the thigh, or kicks a keeper in the face while he is on the ground, only to have the ref wave play on? Shame on you for even suggesting that such a thing should be tolerated in civilized society, much less in the supposedly "sportsmanlike" arena of a football match. SHAME!

Shame on coach Okada and the rest of his staff for not just pulling the players off the pitch and going home. There isnt any "honour" in letting an opponent beat you up and deliberately try to hurt you. There is absolutely nothing to be gained from winning such a farcical imitation of a football match. The only thing you should be feeling is immense SHAME for allowing yourself to be made a part of this entire revolting charade.

The only individuals who can hold their heads up with ANY dignity whatsoever, after this sorry spectacle, are the players of the Japan National Team. Every one of them conducted themselves with a level of poise and dignity which is almost difficult to believe. But as impressive and dignified as their performance was, the only thing this writer can feel after watching the match is intense disgust and contemmpt for everyone and every thing associated with it. Shame on you all. Shame Shame Shame!

Now excuse me . . . I have to go take a shower and try to wash off the contamination.