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May 3, 2008Shut Up and Play FootballMr. Yuichi Nishimura is hardly a stranger to controversy. Fans and players alike know him as one of the most incompetent and arrogant officials in the J.League, and he is a proud member of the Rising Sun News' "Fantastic Four". These four individuals -- Masayoshi "Stretch the Truth" Okada, Masaaki "Flaming Red Card" Iemoto, Yuichi "Invisible Foul" Nishimura and Toshimitsu "The Thing" Yoshida -- have truly set the standard for clueless officiating, and for years we have been regaling readers with news on their remarkable exploits. But despite a veritable Academy Awards Show worth of video clips on YouTube, displaying their many feats, for years they were coddled and protected by the J.League, and indeed, were all appointed as "Special Referees" (a term which surely must have been derived from the same base word as "Special Education" or "Special Olympics" -- that is to say, you have to have some physical or mental impariment in order to qualify). Even after Mr. Yoshida received a lifetime ban by FIFA for his officiating errors in the World Cup Qualification match between Bahrain and Uzbekistan, he was still protected by the J.League, and he continues to work some of the most important matches in the J1. The League has stubbornly turned a blind eye to even the most egregious of officiating errors, and even done its best to punish or otherwise silence those who complain. The extent to which the J.League has gone to DISCOURAGE transparency and constructive criticism over the years is a bit hard for people outside Japan to believve. However, one incident from the early years of the league provides a perfect illustration of the situation. In 1997 Scottish coach Eddie Thompson, who once coached the Australian national team, was serving his first season as the head coach of Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Towards the end of the season, in a match at Tokyo's National Stadium (though I cannot recall precisely, I think the opponent was JEF United), the opposing team lofted a long ball over the defence, and the opposing striker -- who was several yards offside -- raced after it, collected the ball and fired home. All of the Sanfrecce players protested but the ref was having none of it. Then coach Thompson called out to him from the sideline. As the ref turned his attention to the coach, Thompson silently pointed up at the video screen where the replay was being shown -- with the striker clearly well offside. Angrily, the referee walked over and presented Thompson with a red card for "dissent", despite the fact that not a word had been spoken! (incidentally, it was not long after this incident that the J.League issued "guidance" to stadium operators and TV broadcasters, asking them not to show replays of controversial plays. Though never officially "banned" from showing incidents that might embarass the referee, this guidance is still followed today, and only rarely -- if ever -- will TV broadcasts show a replay of incidents where the match officials appeared to make the wrong call. However, in recent years it has become increasingly apparent that the League will not be able to sweep its problems under the rug forever. The the first dent in the facade of J.League stubbornness occurred three years ago, in the first match of the 2005 season, when over 35,000 fans in Yokohama Stadium and millions watching on TV clearly saw Takashi Fukunishi use a volleyball move to palm a free kick into the net, in the final minute of injury time, giving Jubilo Iwata the victory over the Marinos, but Mr Okada insisted that nothing was amiss, and allowed the goal. For the first time ever, the outcry was strong enough to force the J.League to review the incident. But in that case, the stonewalling effort of League officials continued to prevail. The official "investigation" found that Fukunishi had indeed hit the ball with his hand, which . . . the report admitted . . . is not legal. "However", the statement continued "under the circumstances the referee made the right call, because he did not see the hand ball". A few of the more outspoken sportswriters in Japan at the time joked about the logical contortions required to conclude that Mr. Okada "make the right call", and one or two even pointed out that the League had entirely dodged the question of why Mr. Okada did not consult with his linesman (who apparently saw the hand ball). But otherwise, the incident was swiftly buried. The Rising Sun News, incidentally, was the first to dub this incident the "Hand of Satan" Goal (in reference to Maradona's "Hand of God"), and we noted that if one were to interpret the J.League statement literally, it would mean that Mr. Okada was blameless because he failed to do what referees are supposed to do -- watch the ball at all times. In other words, in the eyes of the J.League, incompetence is an acceptable excuse. But this year, the stonewalling effort finally suffered a major breach as Mr. Iemoto went off the deep end during the Xerox Cup match between Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Kashima Antlers. This fiasco differed from past incidents partly due to the seriousness of the mistakes, but also because fans, players, coaches, and above all the international press, failed to follow the usual script. Not only did Kashima Antlers coach Oswaldo Oliveira refuse to back down, and insisted on some sort of investigation; the incident was also reported widely and commented on critically in overseas newspapers . . . and only then (after the cat was clearly out of the bag), by the domestic media. After a careful (!) investigation, the league suspended Mr. Iemoto from his officiating duties for an indefinite period of time, though not less than six months. Based on the lack of any details in the final report (which failed to note any officiating errors, but merely decided that Mr. Iemoto had "failed to maintain proper control of the match"), it is fairly clear that he was punished not so much for bad officiating, but for embarassing the League in the eyes of an international audience. Which brings us to the most recent incident, involving Mr. Nishimura. Lest anyone get the idea that this was just a one-off incident in which he lost his temper and said something foolish, readers should know that Mr. Nishimura has a reputation among players for being a bit "unsympathetic". In an incident which the Rising Sun News reported just a month ago , Mr. Nishimura sent off the wrong player in a match between Ventforet Kofu and Cerezo Osaka, allowed the Cerezo player to retake his free kick even though he clearly stopped and feinted in his approach to deliberately TRICK the keeper into leaving his line, and then showed the keeper a yellow card when he asked why the Cerezo player was allowed to make all sorts of feints and stutter-steps as he took the kick. After this match, there were strong rumours that Mr. Nishimura had actively provoked the Kofu players through an arrogant attitude and a number of harsh words. But like so many other incidents in the past, this was simply swept under the carpet. But Mr. Nishimura's arrogance finally got the best of him; this time a confluence of coincidences made it more difficult than usual for the J.League to sweep the matter under the rug. First of all, the player who was involved -- Taikai Uemoto -- enjoys a spotless reputation. Although not particularly famous, Uemoto is known by coaches and other players as a true gentleman, and is extremely active in public welfare activities in the Kyushu area. His word is beyond reproach, in the eyes of many people in Oita. Furthermore the coach in question, Pericles Chamusca, is very influential as well as extremely stubborn, and apparently fed up with the poor officiating that plagues the league. This was one case that the coach was not going to let the J.League sweep under the rug. The incident also follows, by just three days, another incident in which two Kashiwa Reysol players were shown red cards AFTER A MATCH HAD ENDED, for saying something rude to a referee (though not as rude as what Mr. Nishimura reportedly said). Kashiwa made a formal complaint but in that case, it was swept under the rug, as is usually the case. But even with all of the other instances of bad timing, perhaps the biggest reason why this incident will not go away quickly is that it was reported -- as a huge joke -- in newspapers all over Europe. Once again, Mr. Nishimura has committed the cardional sin: he embarassed his employer in the eyes of the football world. Of course, part of the reason why this broke as such a big story in Europe was that the translation of Mr. Nishimura's alleged comments (in Japanese, "Omae ha damatte, play sureba ii n da! Shine!") was rendered in a direct, word-for-word translation that comes off sounding positively deranged. (as the Guardian rendered it: "You shut up and play! Die!" In particular, the word "shine" (literally translated as "Die!") sounds like something Samuel L. Jackson would scream while frothing at the mouth and pistol-whipping his victim. In fact, Japanese people tend to use the term in a way that would probably be more accurately rendered in English as "Go to hell", or something along those lines. Definitely not proper language for a referee, but a bit less deranged than "DIE!" Despite the brouhaha that the incident has stirred up, Mr. Nishimura decided to try to brazen it out. He insisted that Uemoto must have "mis-heard" what he said. Rather than "shine" (go to hell), he claims he said "shite" (do it!) . . . that is to say, he claims his comments were: "It would be best if you shut up and play football. Do it!" But as just about every Japanese person who reads this explanation agrees, the syntax of that sentence is horrifically unnatural, and out of context. As lame excuses go, this one was lamer than a one-legged centipede. In Japanese society, where "covering your own ass" is frowned upon, especially when it makes your employer look bad, Mr. Nishimura seems to have taken a dangerous gamble. If anyone had been able to corroborate Uemoto's story, that would have surely been the end for him as a referee. Even the local under-10 kiddies league wouldnt have given him a whistle. But as it turned out, this excuse appears to have created enough of a reasonable doubt to save Mr. Nishimura's career, at least for now. On Friday, the J.League issued its verdict on the incident, in wording so contorted that one has to assume the J.League was deliberately trying to invite derision. Uemoto, the League office declared "may indeed have heard what he thought he heard". However, the report noted that "no corroborating evidence could be found" -- that is to say, it is simply Uemoto's word against Nishimura's word. Therefore, regarding Mr. Nishimura's outburst, the J.League concluded that "it is impossible to say whether he said what he says he did not say." . . . and yes, that final sentence sounds just as silly in the original Japanese as it does in English. We have to assume that this wording was chosen deliberately, in order to make a point. Though they may not have a "smoking gun" that could justify firing Mr. Nishimura, the J.League seems to have gone out of its way to make him look foolish. It would be wonderful if this incident scares Mr. Nishimura (and other lazy officials as well)into cleaning up his act and doing his best to be a model referee from this day forward. But to be honest, nobody around here is holding their breath. . . . After Mr. Iemoto's punishment at the start of the year, and the fact that Mr. Yoshida is already serving a lifetime ban from FIFA for any match that takes place outside the J.League, this means that three of the "Fantastic Four" have now landed in hot water. Of course, as we said at the top, this as an accident that has been waiting to happen for years, so readers should not necessarily take the recent incident as an indication that the J.League is necessarily cleaning up its act. But by the same token, we DO think that conditions have changed in recent years, and even the stubbornest of J.League administrators must now realise that something needs to be done to improve the sad state of officiating in Japan's top-flight league. Though you might not hear us talk about it very often, in our match reports, the fact is that there are quite a few officials in the league today who seem to do a pretty good job, most of the time. More importantly, they seem to have cool heads, and know how to talk to the players and manage emotions without resorting immediately to the yellow and red plastic rectangles. The only problem is that the best refs tend to be the younger ones, and if Japan's officiating ranks are anywhere near as seniority-based as most professions in Japan, it could be years before the Fantastic Four and their like are druppem out and the younger officials take their place. It is our earnest hope that this incident will prompt some reconsideration on the part of the J.League administrators. It is time for them to start implementing a strictly merit-based system in which officials are rated on their performances by both neutral overseers AND by the teams whose matches they officiate. That might not immediately solve a problem that has been allowed to fester for 15 years, but it definitely would be a step in the right direction. In recent years, the visible incompetence of the J.League's highest-profile officials has been a very annoying distraction to football fans in Japan. It is high time that the league takes action to deal with the problem, so that we all can spend more time watching, enjoying and talking about the football, and less time complaining about the Men in Black. Now to this week's football action. Unfortunately, time does not permit a very detailed discussion of the Saturday matches, since the writer is getting ready to depart for a Golden Week holiday, shortly. But here are the scores, and a few notes on some of the key matches.
This weekend's match card included a number of very high-profile matches, including two local derbies and several head to head matchups between championship candidates. The "Battle for Shizuoka", between Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata, is the oldest of the J.League's local derbies. The two teams have faced off at least twice a year, every year since 1995. Although Jubilo still holds an edge in the won-lost records, S-Pulse has been closing the gap in recent years. As is usually the case with derby matches, the high degree of intensity and rivalry produced a very exciting contest. Jubilo took the early lead on a goal from Yuichi Komano. However, S-Pulse equalised shortly after the break on a goal by Kazuki Hara, and moments later Takahiro Kawamura picked up two yellow cards in quick succession (the second for arguing with the ref!) , reducing Jubilo to ten men. However, S-Pulse could not complete the comeback, and the match ended in a draw
  1 - 1  
In the Chiba Derby match between JEF United and Kashiwa Reysol, JEF United extended their winless streak to ten games, this season. Reysol have been playing reasonably well this season, and despite the fact that Tadanari Lee is still serving a suspension for jostling a referee during an exchange of words following the match last weekend, Reysol still dominated this contest. The only goal of the match was a clever lob shot by Alex de Melo Santos, shortly before the break, which caught the keeper cheating off his line. However, JEF never really threatened, and Reysol might easily have won by a wider margin if they had finished off their chances a bit better.
  0 - 1  
Vissel Kobe has produced a good run of form over the past few weeks. They recorded a victory over Gamba Osaka and a draw at Kashima. Then again, both Gamba and Antlers were in compromised physical condition, after travelling all over Asia during the month of April, so until Saturday night there was still some uncertainty about just how competitive the Kansai Crimson truly were. But their performance against Urawa Reds lends more evidence to the view that they are a rising force this season.
  1 - 1   The Reds, meanwhile, have been winning with relative ease over the past few matches, but the mediocre competition they have faced may be part of the reason. Vissel really dominated play for most of this match, but their luck seemed to be terrible. Three separate players hit the crossbar and another hit the post, over the first hour of play, then suddenly Urawa snatched the lead on one of their only on-target shots of the patch. Yuki Abe struck with a brilliant overhead kick, to give Urawa the lead with 20 minutes to go. But Vissel finally managed to find the net ten minutes later, on a powerful shot by Takayuki Yoshida which clipped the keeper's gloves and looped into the back of the net.
After running off six victories in a row, Nagoya Grampus has slipped off the pace a bit with three consecutive losses. Gamba Osaka have also struggled to two straight losses, as their busy schedule seems to have worn them down. But Jader "Bare" Spindler seemed to find his second wind in this match, and scored a brace to carry Gamba to a narrow victory..
  1 - 2  
The Kashima Antlers also seem to be exhausted by their ACL responsibilities, but at least they managed to claim a point in each of their last two matches. This week, however, they faced Kawasaki Frontale, who have a history of making things hard for the Antlers. Kashima has not won at Todoroki Stadium since 2000 (although Frontale was not in the J1 during the 2001-05 period), and that streak continued as Frontale fought back twice from deficits, to claim a 3-2 victory. Best of all, they got goals from all of the players who had not been making much of a contribution in the early weeks of the season -- Hiroyuki Taniguchi, Chong Tese and Kengo Nakamura.
  3 - 2   Once again, the Antlers played well for 45 minutes only to run out of gas in the second half -- a sure sign of a team that needs time to rest their fatigued legs. Another very important point to consider is the absence of star wingback Atsuto Uchida. Uchida is the sort of quietly competent player who glides through matches making big contributions without ever really "standing out". But his absence seems to provide all the evidence anyone needs to show how important he is to the team. Uchida's broken rib has kept him out of action for several weeks, and his absence coincides precisely with Kashima's recent slump (their last victory was the match when Uchida was injured, and they failed to score after he went off). Although this was a very closely fought contest, Kashima's fatigue and Uchida's absence provided all the margin that Frontale needed to claim the victory.
Albirex Niigata has been the beneficiary of a lot of fortunate officiating calls in recent weeks. In two of their last three matches they have played at least half the contest with an extra man. But there have been complaints from opponents, and even in the press, about Albirex players and their tendency to collapse like they were shot in the head, at even the slightest tap. If referees begin to get the sense that Niigata players are "diving" in order win free kicks and yellow cards, they may start to crack down and ignore the play-acting.
  3 - 1   Oita Trinita are in exactly the opposite position. In fact, the Trinita - FC Tokyo match was the venue where Mr. Nishimura reportedly told a player to "Shut up and die". Trinita had a man sent off in that contest, which they lost Usually, these things tend to balance out over the long term, and considering what a high-profile incident Mr. Nishimura's outburst created, we do not think the referees will be tempted to give Albirex any more free assistance, at least for the time being. Although there were a few instances of "Swan Diving" in this contest, the ref managed to ignore most of them, and Trinita made things easy foir all involved by snatching a quick lead and keeping Albirex pinned back for most of the contest
Kyoto Sanga were be back to full strength for the first time in three weeks, now that the red card suspensions of all of their key players have been served. Prior to the spate of sending-offs, Sanga were playing the best football the team has shown since 2003, when the roster included LeMans' midfielder Daisuke Matsui and Manchester United winger Park Ji-Sung. However, their eight-man debacle at Niigata was the start of a temporary slump. Fortunately for the Purple Birds, their opponent this week was a very mediocre Consadole Sapporo, who have had some red card-related problems of their own. Davi do Nascimento was missing from this match due to his sending off against . . . . you guessed it -- Albirex Niigata.
  1 - 0   The only goal of the contest came on a sparkling counterattack just before the break, in which Yuto Sato and Ataliba exchanged three pinpoint passes while both in full sprint. Ataliba received the final pass at the edge of the Consadole box and lofted a shot into the left corner.
This season, Tokyo Verdy are a team that can be either very very good or, or absolutely atrocious, depending on the day of the week. Most of the offence is generated by just one player -- Givanildo "Hulk" de Souza -- who happens to be the most inconsistent guy on the entire roster . When the Hulkster has a good match, the Green Vultures usually win. When he has a bad day . . . well, you get the picture.
  3 - 2   On Saturday, the Hulk was at his glowing-green best, barrelling through the Yokohama defence to score one goal and set up a second. But the winning goal was created by two aging veterans who once played for the current Yokohama Marinos coach, when all were younger, more energetic, and accustomed to winning titles. Toshihiro Hattori and Takashi Fukunishi havent seen much silverware lately, but they can still sparkle when they have the chance. On the stroke of the hour, Hattori looped a hight cross from the left flank to Fukunishi, sneaking in at the far post, and Fukunishi leapt over his defender to head home. That proved to be the winning tally, as a brace from Roni was insufficient to earn the Marinos any points.
Last but not least FC Tokyo overcame Omiya Ardija at Omiya stadium, and incredibly, climbed to the top of the league table for a few hours, at least. Though Urawa edged ahead of them on goal difference following their draw in Kobe, Tokyo are experiencing heights of success that the team has never seen before. FC Tokyo really seem to have overcome their old habits and started to believe in themselves. Is this the year that the Capitol City Blues will finally stop singing the blues?
  0 - 3   Well, there is still a long way to go, but for the time being, folks in the Metropolis are enjoying the scenery at the top. Below is the league table as of Saturday evening
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