Mr. NISHIMURA Yuichi, 52, long regarded as one of Japan's leading referees, has announced his retirement from top-level refereeing. A small press conference was held in Tokyo on 19 December last year, where Mr. Nishimura thanked the many people who had supported his refereeing career and answered each question thoughtfully.

A journalist of my age, who is famous for asking long questions, began by saying: “This happened in Germany.”

During a Bundesliga match, a player lashed out at the referee using some very harsh words. The coach, who was not far from them, thought the player would be issued a red card.

However, the referee paused for a moment, then called over the player (whom the journalist remembers as being Brazilian) and spoke to him in a calm tone.

“Mr.〇〇, please think very carefully about the words that you have just said to me.”

He slowly showed a yellow card as saying this.

It was the player who was more surprised than anyone else. In a situation where he could have been shown a card without any explanation, the referee politely and respectfully called his name and calmly made him realise how wrongly he had behaved. He was also shown a yellow card instead of a red. As a result of this exchange, the player immediately apologised to the referee.

Other players around them also heard the exchange, and the game proceeded smoothly without any players challenging the referee's decisions. The player in question, known for his aggressive style of play, also played very cleanly and was applauded by the crowd.

“I know how well you communicate with others, Mr. Nishimura, so I think you should have had similar experiences.”

That was the question from my friend, the “journalist with long questions”.

“Well, let me think.”

After a short pause, Mr. Nishimura told the following story.

During a J.League match, a player reached out and grabbed an opposing player to prevent him from breaking through midfield. Referee Nishimura immediately blew his whistle and ran towards the player. But what came out of his mouth was something unexpected.

“Well, you had no choice but to do it for the team, right?”

As expected, a yellow card was shown, but the player regained his composure after referee Nishimura's words, bowing to him before running over to apologise and help up the player he had knocked down.

This exchange was heard by players from both teams who were nearby, and after this incident, the game continued to be intense, but also very clean.

Mr. Nishimura was born in Tokyo. He became a Class-1 referee in 1999 at the age of 27, and became a FIFA referee in 2004, at the same time becoming a professional referee under contract with the Japan Football Association.

He made his debut as a referee in the J1 League in April 2003, when he took charge of the match between Kobe and Kyoto. By 2024, he officiated 407 J1 League matches. He also officiated a number of high-profile matches, including four finals of the Emperor's Cup JFA Japan Football Championship.

He was appointed as one of the referees for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, taking charge of three matches in the group stage. His performance was highly praised and led to his assignment to the quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Brazil. He was then assigned to a fourth official for the final between the Netherlands and Spain, becoming the first Japanese referee to officiate at a World Cup final. At the subsequent 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, he had the honour of officiating the opening match between Brazil and Croatia, alongside fellow Japanese assistant referees SAGARA Toru and NAGI Toshiyuki.

In addition to his outstanding running ability and positioning skills, his tall stature and dignified attitude on the pitch gave both players and spectators a sense of trust. However, after hearing his story, I came to understand that it was not only his “skills” as a referee, but his “attitude” of focusing on how to let the players, who are the stars of the game, give their all while enjoying the game, that made him one of the best referees in Japanese football history and one who is highly regarded around the world.

Written by OSUMI Yoshiyuki (Football Journalist)

*This article was originally posted on the Japan Football Association Newsletter, “JFAnews,” January 2025 edition.

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