It was to many J.League watchers’ relief that the J.League doled out a four match suspension to Sagan Tosu’s Kim Min-Hyeok for the stamp that reverberated around the world!

I say “relief” as, according to the rules in many leagues around the world the Football Associations state that if action was taken by the referee for the original offence it should be taken as “done, and no further action can be taken.  Many in the game wondered if anything else could be done to punish the player.

I suggested on Twitter that the referee had not seen the offence and had actually given the yellow card for the original foul that had forced Kanazaki to the floor. This was, indeed, the case after the J.League announced the suspension – that will take in two J.League games and two Nabisco Cup matches – after it was decided that the referee had not seen the incident and the card was “only” for the original foul, before the stamp took place.

Sagan Tosu issued an apology to Kashima Antlers, to the player himself, and to the J.League.

Sagan Tosu’s sometime national team goalkeeper Akihiro Hayashi condemned the action by his team mate, saying he never wanted to see anything like that on a football field but also expressed dismay at the anti-South Korean comments.

So… justice done? Or too lenient? You decide! One thing is for sure, an inch or two either way and there could have been some very serious damage to Kanazaki’s eyes or mouth … both the “victim” and perpetrator can consider themselves lucky this incident did not turn out much worse.

Let’s hope we do not see anything like this on a Japanese football field again!