Ryuji Sato

Ryuji Sato (佐藤 隆治, Satō Ryūji, born 16 April 1977) is an international football referee from Japan. He has refereed many matches in the AFC Champions League and FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He is also a referee in J. League Division 1 in Japan.[1]

Ryuji Sato
佐藤 隆治
Full name Ryuji Sato
Born (1977-04-16) 16 April 1977
Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
International
Years League Role
2009–present FIFA listed Referee

Controversy

2022 AFF Championship: Vietnam vs Malaysia

The Group B match between Malaysia and Vietnam was marred by controversy, when Sato who officiated the match are deemed to gave a sudden controversial decision to award a penalty to Vietnam following a clash between Malaysian Azam Azmi and Vietnamese Đoàn Văn Hậu outside the penalty box which saw Azam being sent off, although a similar foul made by Văn Hậu towards Azam was ignored by the same referee.[2][3] A complaint was made by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) towards the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) regarding the "perceived biasedness of Sato's officiating conduct" since a similar incident had also occurred before in another Malaysia-Vietnam encounter during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification held in the United Arab Emirates.[4][5] Through the letter, FAM request for Sato to never refereeing any matches involving Malaysia in the future.[6] Nevertheless, earlier before the controversial decision was made, Sato announced that 2022 would be the last year of his refereeing career when he announced his retirement by the end of the year.[7][8] On 3 January 2023, AFF responded to the FAM's letter by giving Azam a two-match ban, where he would miss Malaysia's last group stage match against Singapore and the semi-final first leg against Thailand. Azam also needed to pay a fine of US$1,000 that must be settled in 30 days. The decisions were not appealable.[9]

AFC Asian Cup
2019 AFC Asian Cup – United Arab Emirates
DateMatchVenueRound
7 January 2019 Iran –  YemenAbu DhabiGroup stage
14 January 2019 United Arab Emirates –  ThailandAl AinGroup stage
22 January 2019 South Korea –  BahrainDubaiRound of 16
25 January 2019 United Arab Emirates –  AustraliaAl AinQuarter-finals

References
  1. Profile
  2. Kin Fai, Ooi (27 December 2022). "Malaysia fall to Vietnam in controversial AFF Cup match". New Straits Times. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  3. Looi, Sylvia (29 December 2022). "AFF Cup: Japanese referee draws ire of Malaysians after controversial red for defender in Vietnam clash". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  4. Azharie, Farah (29 December 2022). "Malaysia file complaint against Japanese referee". New Straits Times. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  5. "Malaysia Sudah Dua Kali Bermasalah dengan Wasit Ryuji Sato" [Malaysia has had problems with referee Ryuji Sato twice]. CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian). 28 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  6. "FAM pangkah terus khidmat Ryuji Sato" [FAM rejects Sato service]. Malaysia Post (in Malay). 30 December 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  7. "AFF Cup 2022: Trọng tài bắt chính trận Việt Nam - Malaysia nghỉ hưu" [2022 AFF Cup 2022: Referee of Malaysia-Vietnam match retires]. VTV (in Vietnamese). 29 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  8. Cuong, Kim (31 December 2022). "Trọng tài bắt chính trận Việt Nam - Malaysia giải nghệ" [Referee of Malaysia-Vietnam match retires]. Đời sống Việt Nam.vn (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  9. Rajan, K. (3 January 2023). "Azam Azmi hit with a two-match suspension, fine". New Straits Times. Retrieved 4 January 2023.


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