Soccer: Japan Beats China

Those of you who follow the news links posted on Japan Probe’s front page may have read the article we linked to focusing on expectations of anti-Japanese hostility leading up to a China-Japan soccer match. Well, the match took place last night, and judging from the news photos showing up on Yahoo! Japan, fans of nasty unsportsman-like behavior weren’t let down.

The most painful-looking event in the match was a kick delivered to a Japanese player by the Chinese goalkeeper during the second half of the game (the photo at the top of this post shows the kick from a different angle):

A video of the “dangerous kung fu kick” is currently the most-viewed video on YouTube Japan:

Other photos and videos (all of which were popular on Yahoo and YouTube’s Japanese sites) show other scenes of “dirty football:”

Japan ended up winning the game, though:

“I knew it would be a tough game but my players fought calmly,” said Japan coach Takeshi Okada, whose squad missed Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura and three key strikers including former Frankfurt player Naohiro Takahara because of poor form or injury.

“They fought patiently and produced a result,” Okada added.

China’s under-pressure Serbian coach Vladimir Petrovic praised his whole squad, including six under-23 players, for “performing aggressively.”

The AFP article linked states that Chinese fans “remained unexpectedly quiet during Japan’s national anthem and cut out the loud booing that marred their win over North Korea.” Japanese language articles, however, report that Chinese fans were quite hostile, booing loudly and even burning a Japanese flag. Jiji Press also released a photo showing Chinese guards restraining a fan whose anti-Japanese cheering got out of hand:

FTV news ran a short segment on Chinese fan reactions to the match, mentioning the flag-burning incident. However, the report noted that there was less anti-Japanese protesting that usual after the match, with Chinese fans instead focusing their anger on their own team:

[Update] More on this from the AFP:

“We deplore yesterday’s performances very much. As the delegation, we are considering making some representations to the EAFF (East Asian Football Federation),” Kuniya Daini told reporters.

“Dangerous acts could threaten players’ careers.”

Daini also hit out at North Korean referee Song O-Tae, who handed out four yellow cards to the hosts but did not send anyone off.

He said he would consult with Japanese men’s coach Takeshi Okada later Thursday and may take action on Friday.

“We may seek appropriate steps to be taken with regard to both rough plays and refereeing,” Daini said.

Okada had already complained he was “very much dissatisfied” with the officiating and other matters.

“I told my players to act calmly but it was myself who was more excited,” he said after the match.