Court Finds Football Official Guilty of Horrible Crime, Sentences Him to 18 Months in Prison
- A football official has been sentenced to jail for viewing an inappropriate imag in a European nation
- The ex-international has managed several clubs and the U20 national team of an Asia country, before bagging an appointment
- The official was on his way to a national assignment before the unfortunate incident occurred
A top official of the Japan Football Association has been sentenced to jail for 18 months in France.
The official was on his way to the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile. The Japanese team have been impressive in the tournament, recording victories in their group stages against Egypt (2-0), Chile (2-0), and New Zealand (3-0).
The Samurai Blue are billed to take on France in the Round of 16 on Wednesday morning.
Source: Getty Images
What was the offense of the official?
The Technical Director of the Japan Football Association, Masanaga Kageyama, was caught viewing inappropriate images during his trip to Chile.
According to France 24, the police arrested Kageyama during a stopover at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris when a member of the flight crew reported the incident. He admitted viewing the images, but claimed that he did not realise they were illegal in France.
A court sitting in Paris sentenced him to a jail term of one year, four months, and a fine of $5,830 for possessing/saving inappropriate images. The court said:
“The facts were discovered by the plane’s flight crew, who raised the alarm after noticing that the convicted man was viewing inappropriate images on the plane.”
The sentence of the Japanese also includes a ban on working with children for 10 years, plus a ban on returning to France for the period.
Meanwhile, Kageyama claimed the images were artistic creations generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Source: Getty Images
The former Japan U20 coach was tasked with implementing strategies to strengthen the national team, as well as training coaches and developing youth players.
Japan FA terminates Kageyama appointment
The Japan Football Association have terminated the appointment of Masanaga Kageyama as their Technical Director of the association.
According to Nippon, Kageyama was billed to inspect the country's team participating in the ongoing FIFA U20 World Cup.
The JFA General Secretary, Kazuyuki Yakawa said the successor of Masanaga Kageyama would be announced at the appropriate time. He said:
"From the viewpoint of protecting privacy, I will refrain from giving an explanation" about details on the ruling for Kageyama and whether he has admitted to the charges.
"Football is one part of society. Something like this cannot happen. We must all work together to ensure there is thorough compliance and guidance."
Former Real Madrid coach sentenced to prison
Legit.ng earlier reported that former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has been handed a one-year sentence by a court sitting in Madrid.
The Italian coach is accused of failing to pay tax on his image rights revenue during his first stint in 2014.
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Source: Legit.ng
