The fierce will of Junya Ito’s Japanese teammates was therefore not enough. It was thought that the Japanese Federation was going to change its position regarding the dismissal from Qatar (where the Samouraï Blue will play their quarter-final of the Asian Nations Cup against Iran on Saturday, at 12:30 p.m.) of the Reims striker, accused of sexual assault by two women after a friendly match against Peru (4-1) on June 20, 2023, the Osaka police having opened an investigation and summoned Ito.
From Doha, the director of the national team, Masakuni Yamamoto, even declared on Friday, regarding the initial decision to part with Ito: “We decided to make adjustments again in the direction of keeping him. » But he made it clear that the final decision would be announced this Friday from Japan, after an internal investigation and an interview with the player.
“I apologize for changing the decision twice”
Kozo Tajima, president of the Japanese Federation
And the president of the Federation, Kozo Tajima, who remained in Tokyo, declared: “After consulting the coach, Hakime Moriyasu, we decided that Ito should leave the selection. We have to create an environment in which the team can concentrate on football. We made a global decision”, therefore taking into account Ito’s physical and mental condition, put forward during the initial decision. And he concluded: “I apologize for changing the decision twice. »
This time, Junya Ito (30 years old, 54 caps, 13 goals), who had participated in the three matches of the first round of the Asian Cup, but remained on the bench in the round of 16 against Bahrain (3-1), will therefore return to Reims, who supported his player and where he scored two goals and offered four assists in 17 L1 matches this season. But it’s hard to imagine him being able to play on Sunday against Toulouse (3 p.m., 20th day). Though…
