The J. League rejected a request from Vissel Kobe on Monday for a replay of Saturday's first-division match against Kashiwa Reysol, which was marred by a refereeing blunder.
League officials said they received the request from Kobe earlier Monday and admitted that referee Yoshitsugu Katayama had made a mistake in the officiating linked with a late substitution at Kashiwa Stadium.
The blunder comes just weeks after another Japanese referee, Toshimitsu Yoshida, was suspended indefinitely by the Asian Football Confederation for getting the penalty law wrong in a World Cup qualifier.