Asahi: Mottram to call it quits at year-end
Mottram quoted in an earlier article:After nearly 10 years in Japan, one of the world's most respected soccer referees is putting away his whistle and heading home. Leslie Mottram said sayonara to Japan at a news conference Tuesday at the Japan Football Association headquarters in Tokyo. The 54-year-old Scotsman says it's time to move on, but adds he'll be leaving Japan in December with a heavy heart...more...
The Japanese refs know the laws of the game inside out, probably better than I do word for word...But putting them into practice is another matter. It is very difficult to referee with a rule book, because sometimes you must use your common sense and do things which go against the rules...I think the biggest problem for Japanese referees is man-management skills.
