Japan National Soccer Team Missing Forward Accused of Sexual Crime... Impact on Quarterfinal Match?

Red Alert Before Japan's Round of 8 Match... Ito Released from National Team
Stade Reims "Still Consider Ito as Our Club Player"

A red flag has been raised for the Japan national football team ahead of the quarterfinal match. Forward Ito Junya (31, Stade Reims), who has been accused of sexual assault, has been released from the Japan national team.

Japanese national soccer team forward Ito Junya.
Photo by Yonhap News

According to a press release from the Japan Football Association (JFA) on the 1st, "We announce that Ito has left the Japan team participating in the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup," and "There are no plans to call up a replacement player for Ito." The statement continued, "JFA understands that the parties involved have differing claims regarding the reported facts related to the sexual crime allegations, so careful response is required," and apologized, saying, "We apologize for causing concern to the many fans supporting the Japan national team and Ito."

Stade Reims, Ito's club team, also issued a statement saying, "The club has also seen the reports by the Japanese media about Ito. We are considering filing a defamation lawsuit," and added, "Stade Reims does not doubt Ito's personal qualities and behavior. We still consider Ito a player of our club. Stade Reims continues to support Ito." The club further stated, "We are awaiting the legal judgment regarding Ito. The club will neither take immediate action nor remain silent about the current situation."

Earlier, Japanese media reported that Ito has been criminally accused as a perpetrator of a sexual crime. Ito is suspected of having sexual intercourse without consent after giving alcohol to two women, including the accuser, a woman in her 20s named A. The accuser A claims that she was sexually assaulted by Ito in a hotel room in Osaka, Japan, on the morning of June 21 last year. A testified, "When I barely regained consciousness in a drunken state, Ito's body was pressing down on me."

Ito, a married man in his third year of marriage, is a key forward for Japan, having played in all three group stage matches of Group D in this Asian Cup. Having lost a starting forward, Japan is scheduled to face Iran in the quarterfinals on the 3rd at 8:30 PM.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.