The unusual incident that caused the Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima to be defeated by the AFC with an unbelievable score of 0-3 was because the team used an ineligible player, French striker Valere Germain, in the match against Lion City Sailors (Singapore) in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League 2, on March 5.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Club (purple shirt) in the match against Nam Dinh team in the round of 16 of AFC Champions League 2
Photo: Minh Tu
Valere Germain, 34, has only recently joined the J League 1 (Japan). He came off the bench and scored to make it 5-1 for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the 74th minute, before teammate Sota Nakamura sealed the 6-1 victory just a minute later.
However, this big win for the Japanese team was unexpectedly reversed when it was discovered that Valere Germain was serving a three-match ban due to an unfinished disciplinary case from last season.
In the 2024 season, Valere Germain played for Australian club Macarthur FC, participating in the AFC Cup, now renamed AFC Champions League 2. This player was banned for 3 matches for participating in a brawl in the ASEAN final of the tournament against A-League (Australia) rivals Central Coast Mariners.
At the end of February, Valere Germain joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima. But in his debut match in the Asian tournament, this player caused harm to his team because his old penalty had not been completed.
In a statement released on March 9, the AFC confirmed that Valere Germain was indeed ineligible to play in the match between Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Lion City Sailors. As a result, the Asian football body decided to cancel the 6-1 scoreline of the match between the two teams on March 5, and award Sanfrecce Hiroshima a 0-3 loss.
With this unexpected reversal, Lion City Sailors will rekindle their hopes of advancing further in the AFC Champions League 2 when they host Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the second leg of the quarter-finals on March 12 with a 3-0 lead.
In addition to the penalty of losing, according to ESPN Asia, Sanfrecce Hiroshima was also fined about 1,000 USD, while player Valere Germain is said to have completed his 3-match ban after the aforementioned disastrous match.
"It is very strange that Sanfrecce Hiroshima Club made such an unbelievable mistake, because Japanese teams are often considered the best organized clubs in Asia," ESPN Asia expressed.
Previously, in the round of 16 of the AFC Champions League 2, Sanfrecce Hiroshima defeated Nam Dinh of Vietnam with a total score of 7-0 after 2 matches. In these matches, the Japanese team showed a superior level and extremely modern organization. However, they made an unbelievable mistake in the next match against their opponent from Singapore.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-thang-nam-dinh-tai-afc-champions-league-bat-ngo-bi-xu-thua-0-3-ly-do-kho-tin-185250309093126031.htm
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