JFA is verifying information related to 4 Japanese referees believed to appear in the files of the scandal that is shocking South Korean football. The specific identities of these people have not been released.
According to the published information, the incident is related to the matches of the Korean national team in the period from March 2011 to March 2012.
Records of the Korean Football Association (KFA) are said to be that 2 members of the refereeing team that officiated the match between South Korea and Kuwait in February 2012 went to a massage establishment in Yeoksam-dong area, Gangnam district, Seoul. The cost of 500,000 won was paid by KFA credit cards.
These two people were identified as Japanese referees. This is one of the details that prompted the JFA to conduct an investigation to clarify the extent of the involvement of these referees in the case.
Some information from the Japanese media said that most of the referees involved have retired. However, there are still people who continue to operate in the football field, including those who are currently holding referee management positions in the J.League.
A name that was mentioned during the clarification of the case was Yuichi Nishimura, a former Japanese FIFA referee. Mr. Nishimura was born in 1972 and ended his refereeing career in 2014. His last match was the second leg final of the AFC Champions League between Al-Hilal and Western Sydney Wanderers.
However, whether Mr. Nishimura is directly involved in the investigated acts still needs to be verified. The JFA has not announced the names of the 4 referees as well as conclusions on the responsibility of each individual.
The incident began to attract attention in South Korea on August 7, after information about the KFA being accused of providing sex services to foreign referees and supervisors was released.
According to the information mentioned, about 10 foreign referees and officials may have been involved in the incident. The alleged acts occurred between March 2011 and March 2012, related to 7 matches of the Korean national team.
Among these are 3 matches identified including the confrontation with Kuwait in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers in February 2011, the match against Oman in the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers in September 2011 and the match against Qatar in the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers in March 2012.
JFA said it will announce the results after completing the investigation process. Therefore, information related to Japanese referees is currently only at the level of suspicion and cannot be considered a conclusion about the wrongdoings of each individual.
