Football Supporters Clash In Saitama

[Mulboyne]

[YT]sGSXwBMaIF8[/YT]

There was trouble at Saitama Stadium yesterday following the a J-League game between Urawa Reds and Gamba Osaka. It was an ill-tempered match on the pitch with players coming close to blows and the fans of both teams throwing things at each. Visiting Gamba won but the Reds were unhappy with several decisions during the match. In particular, Gamba scored from a quickly taken throw-in which the Reds felt should have been their ball. The atmosphere turned uglier when the football was over. Around 20,000 Urawa supporters waited outside the stadium for their Gamba rivals to leave and officials judged that there was a real threat of violence. The Gamba Osaka supporters were kept inside the stadium for over two and a half hours while a series of buses was arranged to spirit them away. Reports say that they took off their team colours and hid their banners to make it less easy for the jeering Reds to identify them. Riot police were also on hand to keep the two sets of fans apart.

Related FG Thread: Chiba Soccer Hooligans

[kusai Jijii]

Way to go Japan!
Truely the best imitators of the worst parts of other countries' cultures.

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Fans make Reds' loss uglier

Gamba Osaka supporters picked the wrong group of fans to mess with and as a result, they missed their Shinkansen by a few hours. In arguably the worst crowd trouble the J.League has ever seen, Gamba fans were held hostage at Saitama Stadium for three hours on Saturday following their team's 3-2 victory over Urawa Reds, a win that was marred by a post-match melee on the pitch as well as in the stands. It all kicked off after the final whistle when Gamba players -- in an act that could be misunderstood as taunting -- celebrated their first victory ever at Saitama Stadium by dancing around in a ring. With a game in hand, the win saw them close the gap between the J1 leaders to seven points. Reds midfielder Marcus Tulio Tanaka, never shy about saying what's on his mind, took offense to the celebration, wagging a finger at Gamba as if to say, "Not in our house." That sparked a shouting, shoving match that drifted toward the stands where the Gamba supporters were located, and the visiting fans decided to get in on the action by tossing all kinds of objects at the Reds players and supporters.

Not a good idea.

For whatever reason, the Gamba fans seemed to have forgotten that a crowd of 57,050 attended the game--and the minor fact that they were not in Osaka. The stadium erupted and soon enough, the cornered Gamba supporters were being pelted with anything and everything that could be thrown. Reds fans broke through the fencing that separated the two supporters' groups, raiding the Gamba section. A small army of security guards rushed to the scene, intervening before anyone was seriously hurt. The only casualty was a male Gamba fan who fell out of the stands and was rushed to hospital after being suspected of breaking his right foot. Around 5,000 Reds supporters waited for the Gamba fans outside the stadium. Approximately 1,000 Gamba fans were forced to stay inside the ground for more than three hours before organizers managed to convince the Urawa fans to stand down. The jailed supporters were escorted away from the stadium by shuttle bus. How Gamba fans will react on Nov. 29 when Reds travel to Banpaku Stadium will surely be scrutinized. "We have to accept that we were beaten," a furious Tulio said after the match. "But we wouldn't do what they did if we won at their place. You've got to respect your opponents."

[xenomorph42]

Way to go Japan!
Truely the best imitators of the worst parts of other countries' cultures.

Come on, gotta give them at least a little tiny bit of effort for trying.

[Greji]

Way to go Japan!
Truely the best imitators of the worst parts of other countries' cultures.

The police should have been happy Ji! They finally had a chance to use all those preparations they made for the FG hooligans at the world cup and didn't have a chance to use!

[Gilligan]

The police should have been happy Ji! They finally had a chance to use all those preparations they made for the FG hooligans at the world cup and didn't have a chance to use!

Greji, are you suggesting the Japanese police should use the same techniques on Japanese people that they reserve for foreigners? How dare you!?

[Mulboyne]

[kurohinge1]

Great Edo story, Mulboyne. It just shows that there's nothing new under the sun. The Wiki entry also suggests that the firefighters later got into trouble for using the fire alarm for an improper purpose - to rally their men for a private war against the sumo.

Anway, from the description above, it sounds like the football thing was handled really well. A full scale melee was avoided and only one fellow injured - largely by gravity. Credit where credit's due - those in charge (including the fan that apologised, if that's true) did well.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Probably a slow day at Honda today. Well done lads.

[Greji]

Japan just scored at the start of the second half 1-0. Listening to the crowd, if they don't win, there'll might be some more action...

[Greji]

Japan beats Bahrain 1-0, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's going to be in riots, or other fun and games....

[Coligny]

To quote and translate a french punk rock song:

"They call them hooligans,but they know it is not true, because if they were hooligans then they would speak in english."

(Ont t'appelle hooligans mais tu sais bien que c'est pas vrai. Si t'etais hooligans et bin tu parlerai en anglais)

[kurohinge1]

Japan beats Bahrain 1-0, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's going to be in riots, or other fun and games....

From the same qualifier group, Australia play Uzbekistan Wednesday night (kick-off 6pm Japan time). I've tried Google but none of the "sports" bars seem to be showing any sport that night!

If anyone knows where I can watch that game around Nara / Osaka, I would be eternally grateful if you would post (or PM me) the details.

[Mulboyne]

I would have thought that even if somewhere like the Coolabah isn't showing it for some reason then there would be someone there who might be able tell you where you can watch the match. They give an email address for a guy who runs an indoor soccer team in their links so you could try dropping him a message. It may not be showing on any of the regular cable or satellite channels but it would be surprising if someone isn't setting up some kind of streaming.

If all else fails, you could ask these guys if they know.

[kurohinge1]

Thanks Mulboyne-san.

It's not even on any of the J-Sports channels, so it's not looking good.

Nevertheless, I've sent off a few emails using the links you provided, even to "those guys" - as I do pay their wages!

Cheers

[Gilligan]

kurohinge, you might try checking http://www.channelsurfing.net sometime Wednesday to see if they'll have it.

[kurohinge1]

kurohinge, you might try checking http://www.channelsurfing.net sometime Wednesday to see if they'll have it.

"Thanks little buddy" [/Gilligan TV show references].

I'm already imposing on the "outlaws" enough to borrow some internet time. There's no internet cafes near by and even if I found one with a connection quick enough to refresh more than once between goals, I dare say a pub will have more atmosphere, even if I have to borrow some ear phones to listen to a small staff TV over the top of an enka karaoke contest in some bar in the boondocks.

But I've already had some success with the email enquiries, with the Coolabah (thanks again, Mulboyne) suggesting they should be able to hook it up via the 'net, and even the Oz Consular staff coming through with information that the Blarney Stone is also supposed to be showing it.

So, things are looking up.

[kurohinge1]

Great game, good result, cool pub (the Coolabah) & music, oishii food & nama beer & friendly owner & staff.

It felt a bit surreal, watching Oz v Uzbekistan play soccer/football in Sydney, via a Chinese internet feed (with Chinese commentary) in an Oz-NZ pub in Osaka. But it was a fun night & I recommend the pub if you're in town.

[Greji]

[quote="kurohinge1"]Great game, good result, cool pub (the Coolabah) & music, oishii food & nama beer & friendly owner & staff.

It felt a bit surreal, watching Oz v Uzbekistan play soccer/football in Sydney, via a Chinese internet feed (with Chinese commentary) in an Oz-NZ pub in Osaka. But it was a fun night & I recommend the pub if you're in town.

]

How did Uzbekistan look? Aren't they the next stop for the mighty Okada Japan?

[kurohinge1]

How did Uzbekistan look? Aren't they the next stop for the mighty Okada Japan?

They seemed to lose steam at the end, although the Aussie Captain also seemed to succumb in the second half and earned himself a yellow card for his moment of weakness. In any event, Japan should be favourites over Uzbekistan on June 6.

From the SMH's post-match report:

Remaining matches:

June 6: Uzbekistan v Japan, Qatar v Australia.
June 10: Japan v Qatar, Australia v Bahrain.
June 17: Australia v Japan, Bahrain v Uzbekistan.

[Greji]

[quote="kurohinge1"]They seemed to lose steam at the end, although the Aussie Captain also seemed to succumb in the second half and earned himself a yellow card for his moment of weakness. In any event, Japan should be favourites over Uzbekistan on June 6.

From the SMH's post-match report:



]

What does the Nippon Daihyou need to do out of that remaining schedule to go to South Africa?

[kurohinge1]

What does the Nippon Daihyou need to do out of that remaining schedule to go to South Africa?

According to the FIFA standings, Oz is on 13 points and Japan on 11, and yesterday's SMH suggested Oz only needed 1 more point to get through, which would mean Japan needs another 3 points. With 3 games remaining, they should do it easily - and a win on 6 June would allow them to let down their hair and play in a more entertaining style for the last 2 games.

[Mulboyne]

A Fuji TV crew covering a Nabisco cup game were assaulted by an Urawa Reds supporter who was later arrested. Their camera got tangled in a banner and the supporters weren't pleased about it. The arrested man said he didn't injure anyone, he just pulled some hair.

Report here (Japanese)

[IkemenTommy]

The arrested man said he didn't injure anyone, he just pulled some hair.

He fights like a girl. He deserved to get arrested.

[Mike Oxlong]

Yokohama Marinos apologize for banana-waving fan incident

Yokohama Marinos president Akira Kaetsu apologized profusely on Monday after one of the club’s fans waved a banana at Kawasaki Frontale’s Brazilian striker Renato on Saturday, describing the act as ‘unforgivable’.

Marinos banned the supporter indefinitely after the teenager was identified by club officials when the footage went viral.

“I’d like to apologize to the members and staff of Kawasaki Frontale and their families. I’m very sorry about this incident,” Kaetsu told reporters in Tokyo on Monday.

“It’s unforgivable. We will not tolerate any acts of discrimination. The fan is denying that he had any racist intentions, but we explained that while you may not think so, people perceive it differently.”

The incident comes five months after fellow J.League outfit Urawa Reds were forced to play a home game at an empty stadium as punishment for their fans unveiling a banner deemed discriminatory.

J.League chairman Mitsuru Murai promised swift action.

“It’s very regretful that such provocative behavior was seen again despite our efforts to prevent such provocative jeering in stadiums,” he said.

“I want to take into overall account, the social changes since and the way clubs handle (these situations). I want a quick decision.”

http://www.japantoday.com/category/spor ... n-incident

[Coligny]

so if you wave Camembert at a french, now that's racist too ?

Careful not to eat bagels in public either...

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

so if you wave Camembert at a french, now that's racist too ?

Careful not to eat bagels in public either...

Can someone please translate what the cheese eating surrender monkey is saying this time?

[Coligny]

Brazil export shitloads of bananas, no ? Waving a banana at a Braziliun is a bit like waving a beer or an Audi at a German... Or cheeze at a French... Extremely... Meaningless... Unless you want to be offended because it's your hobby...

[Russell]

Brazil export shitloads of bananas, no ? Waving a banana at a Braziliun is a bit like waving a beer or an Audi at a German... Or cheeze at a French... Extremely... Meaningless... Unless you want to be offended because it's your hobby...

How many monkeys eat Camembert, drink beer, and drive an Audi?

[Wage Slave]

The fact he is black is far more germane than the fact he is Brazilian?