Recently, I have been concerned about something in the J.League; the relationship between the referees and the players.

It was not uncommon before to see referees act as if they did not even care to hear what the players had to say. In recent years, however, more referees rely on “communication,” such as listening to the players and explaining the judgment in short words, in an effort to help the players regain their composure and establish mutual trust.

That in itself is a very good thing. I realise that it would be an effective way of “game control” to prevent fouls from being repeated, preferably with a warning rather than a yellow card, albeit it depends on the type of foul and the degree of malice in the conduct.

What concerns me, though, is that there have been a number of instances where it appears like the players are taking advantage of the referees’ friendly approaches.

One such incident occurred on 14 May, during a J1 match between Kashima Antlers and Nagoya Grampus held at Japan National Stadium in Matchweek 13. The scene came shortly after Kashima's SUZUKI Yuma scored the opener with a superb header from a right corner kick in the 29th minute.

As Suzuki turned around to celebrate the goal with his teammates, the striker halted when he saw referee KIMURA Hiroyuki in a yellow jersey. Suzuki glared at him and approached him in a confrontational manner.

This was due to the fact that Suzuki’s goal scored in the 12th minute, which also came from a brilliantly executed header off of another right corner kick, was disallowed by Kimura, who reviewed the play and ordered the corner kick to be retaken after VAR pointed out that Suzuki have committed a foul just before the corner kick. With that still fresh in his mind, Suzuki must have felt like saying “How’s that?” to Kimura, after scoring an indisputable goal.

This attitude was clearly an insult to the referee. His teammates noticed that and quickly separated him from the referee, congratulating him on his goal while also trying to calm him down. Kimura did not issue a card for Suzuki’s behaviour, perhaps as a result of the efforts made by his teammates.

There was another scene on 29 April, during a J1 match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Nagoya Grampus held at Nissan Stadium in Matchweek 10. In the 13th minute, Yokohama’s MATSUBARA Ken committed a foul deep in the opposing half to prevent Nagoya’s MORISHITA Ryoya from initiating a counterattack. This foul might have warranted a yellow card, but referee YAMASHITA Yoshimi opted to issue a stern warning instead.

The Nagoya players crowded Yamashita and demanded for a yellow card against Matsubara, but she dismissed their claims, called back Matsubara, who was walking back to his own half, and started to give him a warning. It was at this moment when Nagoya's Mateus CASTRO blasted the ball, which was located around 20 metres away from the spot of the foul. The ball carried over 60 metres and hit the crossbar after taking a bounce. Yamashita saw this and immediately gave Castro a yellow card.

Some raised a question, “had the referee blown her whistle in order to stop the match from resuming?” but this was irrelevant in the given circumstance. The ball was located way too far from where the foul was committed, and Castro was one of the players who was protesting vehemently against Yamashita just moments earlier. It was a clear insult to the referee and a yellow card was warranted.

In a match between Nagoya Grampus and Sanfrecce Hiroshima on 20 May, Hiroshima’s Douglas VIEIRA, infuriated that his opponent was not shown a red card, stormed referee KOYA Koei and ended up making physical contact with him. However, no card was given for this.

I do not believe that the referee’s “authoritarianism” should be reinstated. The current trend of referees attempting to establish trust with players through communication is a positive development. However, I believe that referees must also take a firm stand when dealing with unacceptable matters.

Written by OSUMI Yoshiyuki (Football Journalist)

*This article was originally posted on the Japan Football Association Newsletter, “JFAnews,” June 2023 edition.

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