Ito’s withdrawal over assault allegations ‘mutual’- Japan boss،
Hajime Moriyasu says Junya Ito's withdrawal from Japan's Asian Cup squad after sexual assault allegations against him emerged was a mutual decision, with the coach insisting it would not affect not negatively his team before their quarter-final against Iran.
After appearing in all three group matches, Ito was an unused substitute in Japan's 3-1 win over Bahrain on Wednesday after reports in Japan said two women had filed a criminal complaint against him, accusing him of sexual assault.
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Citing investigative sources, Japanese media said Ito was under investigation in Osaka over the allegations, which the player and his lawyer have vigorously denied and filed a criminal complaint with authorities, saying these allegations were false.
The Japan Football Association (JFA) announced on Thursday that the Stade de Reims player would leave the national team “out of consideration for his mental and physical condition”, before reversing course a few hours later, the head of the team said. national team, Masakuni Yamamoto, to the media. in Doha, they are now “working to keep him on the team”.
On Friday, however, Ito's withdrawal from the team was confirmed.
“It would have been better if [Ito] could have stayed with us until the end of the tournament,” Moriyasu said, through a JFA translator.
“But ultimately we had to respect his wishes. This will was agreed [to] by the Japan FA, to let him go.
“As for the effect on my team, I'm not building a team that will suffer if we lose a player. We have a team where everyone who can play will play to their maximum potential.
“So I'm confident [Ito leaving] will not affect my team.
“I spoke to Ito. He is healthy enough to communicate, to talk. But mentally, I don't think he is in a condition to play in a high-intensity football match.”
Amidst this, Japan will face fellow Asian heavyweights Iran on Saturday at Education City Stadium, with the winner facing either defending champions Qatar or Uzbekistan in the last four. The two nations previously met in the semi-final of the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with Japan winning 3-0.
“Physically it will be a very difficult match in a difficult schedule,” Moriyasu said. “But we have to perform in the given circumstances. I think we are professional enough to do that.
“I think it will be a very good show between two great Asian teams. I am looking forward to that as well.
Iran beat a stubborn Syria on penalties on Wednesday to advance to the quarter-finals and set up the meeting with Japan, but will be without Porto striker Mehdi Taremi after the 31-year-old, who won and converted a penalty in this match. , was sent off for two yellow cards.
Coach Amir Ghalenoei and goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand expressed their dissatisfaction with the less than 72-hour delay between the end of the Syrian competition and the clash against Japan, but remained confident they will have sufficiently recovered.
“I'm not happy that [the tournament will] “We know Japan is a very good team, they have very good players. But we are Iran, we also have very good players.
“Our recovery for this match lasted less than 72 hours but with everything the coaching staff and the medical staff did, I think we had a very good recovery.
“The most important thing is how we can recover mentally. And I saw my teammates today and they were very happy and very ready. I think we had a very good mental recovery and we are ready for tomorrow. [Saturday’s] match.”
