Japanese Soccer Season Begins With a Pitch Invasion

You probably wouldn’t expect pre-season cup sponsored by a photocopier to cause a pitch invasion in Japan, but that’s exactly what happened today. The Xerox Super Cup is like the Japanese equivalent of the English Community Shield, with the J-League Champions play the Emperor’s Cup winners. But since Kashima Antlers did the double last year, the Super Cup was a rematch of their 2007 Emperor’s Cup Final against second division Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

After Antlers surrendered a 2-0 lead the game went to a penalty shootout, which Hiroshima won 4-3. All sounds very normal, but referee Masaaki Iemoto had booked seven players, shown three red cards, disallowed two Antlers’ goals and - crucially - allowed Hiroshima to retake two missed spot kicks.

Antlers have demanded an investigation into exactly what Iemoto was doing, but “around 100″ angry Antlers fans made their feelings known in a more direct way. They ran onto the pitch to protest, which will definitely draw more attention to Iemoto’s performance, who should just be happy the game wasn’t played in Thailand or Guyana.

Category: Asia

Tags: Asia, J-League, Japan, Kashima Antlers, Masaaki Iemoto, Pitch Invasion, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, World Football, World Soccer, Xerox Super Cup

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