J. League club Avispa Fukuoka on Friday terminated the contract of the 19-year-old player arrested last month on suspicion of paying a 14-year-old junior high school girl to fondle her.
Fukuoka punished the player, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, by sentencing him to one year of community service but is to keep him on its books as a temporary employee of the club.
Fukuoka held club president Kazuhiro Tomoike partly responsible for the incident and cut his pay by 20% for a six-month period while executive board members Yoshihiro Yanagi and Katsuhiko Machida were both forced to take 10% pay decreases for one month.
Gamba hires Nishino
OSAKA -- Gamba Osaka on Friday announced the appointment of former Japan Olympic team and Kashiwa Reysol boss Akira Nishino as new manager of the J. League first-division side.
The 46-year-old Nishino, who coached Japan's under-23 side at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, takes over from Kazuhiko Takemoto after the season-ending Emperor's Cup on a contract running from Jan. 21 next year through Jan. 31, 2004.