Ito, key to Japan’s flank attack, reported on sexual assault charges Hwang Ui-jo, scorer in the last two games against Australia, does not participate in the tournament
Korea and Japan, who are participating in the ‘2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup’, are experiencing a power leak due to sexual crime investigations of key players. Korea’s Hwang Ui-jo (Nottingham) and Japan’s Junya Ito (Reims) were involved in sexual crimes and left the line.
Junya Ito, a key striker for the Japanese soccer team, was excluded from the game after reports emerged in his country that he had been accused of sexual assault.
On the 31st of last month, Japanese media ‘Weekly Shinjo’ raised suspicions that Ito had sex with two women without their consent after drinking alcohol. Ito did not play in the round of 16 against Bahrain that was held on the day the report came out. He was named on the substitute list but was not brought on.
The Japan Football Association is experiencing confusion as it announced on the 1st that it would remove Ito from the national team, but put it on hold again a day later.
Ito is a winger with outstanding ability and led the team to advance to the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Ito was expected to lead the flank attack along with Kaoru Mitoma in this tournament as well, but as suspicions were raised, his participation in the tournament became uncertain.
The Korean national team also suffered a power leak due to the investigation into sexual crime allegations. Frontline striker Hwang Ui-jo is under police investigation on charges of illegally filming sexual intercourse with his ex-lover. Hwang Ui-jo, who was excluded from the national team until a clear conclusion was reached by the investigative agency, could not accompany the team to this Asian Cup.
The absence of Hwang Ui-jo from the national team ahead of the quarterfinals against Australia is even more disappointing. The player who scored goals in both recent games against Australia is none other than Hwang Ui-jo.
During the friendly match (1-1 draw) held in Brisbane, Australia on November 17, 2018, Hwang Ui-jo scored the first goal with a counterattack in the 22nd minute of the first half. In the friendly match against Australia (1-0 win) held in Busan on June 7, 2019, Hwang Ui-jo rushed to the goal in the 31st minute of the second half after coming on as a substitute and scored the winning goal.
With Hwang Ui-jo missing from this tournament on suspicion of illegal filming, coach Klinsmann did not select a replacement player. Existing frontline strikers Cho Gyu-seong and Oh Hyun-gyu are competing under pressure.
With Korea and Japan, considered favorites to win this Asian Cup, both facing an embarrassing situation due to sexual crime investigations of key players, attention is being paid to what kind of results the two teams will produce. 토토사이트