Tokyo: Japan’s football authorities on Tuesday sacked coach Javier Aguirre amid claims he was involved in match-fixing during a previous tenure in Spain.
The move brings to an end the short and tumultuous stint in Japan for the 56-year-old Mexican, who was reportedly the country’s highest-ever paid national coach on an estimated $2.45 million (Dh8.99 million) annually, but under whom the Blue Samurai struggled on the field.
“We have reached the decision to terminate the contract with coach Aguirre at this time,” Japan Football Association (JFA) president Kuniya Daini told a nationally televised press conference.
“We have come to the conclusion that we must avoid the risk that these things will affect the World Cup Asia qualifiers.”
Aguirre, who only signed on the dotted line last year, has been under a cloud since claims emerged that he had been involved in fixing results when he was manager of Spanish side Real Zaragoza.
He is due to appear in court this month in Valencia, Spain, to answer charges that he and 40 others rigged a 2011 league match that saw Zaragoza defeat Levante 2-1 to avoid relegation.
Spanish prosecutors claim that Zaragoza paid a total of 965,000 euros (Dh4.01 million) into the bank accounts of certain coaches, staff and players, who then gave the money to Levante’s players as a “bribe”.
While Aguirre has denied wrongdoing, it left the JFA squirming in embarrassment as the controversy overshadowed Japan’s unsuccessful defence of their Asian Cup title.
Their shock exit last month, when they lost on penalties in the quarter-final to the UAE, compounded calls for Aguirre to go.
In a brief Japanese-language comment released by the JFA, Aguirre thanked Japanese fans and wished luck to the national side.
“I am happy that I had an opportunity to work in Japan. I appreciate the cheers of Japanese supporters and I wish the team the best of luck in the future,” he was quoted as saying.
The JFA’s chief Daini stressed that his organisation was not presuming Aguirre’s guilt in a case that is still a long way from finished, but said it wanted to avoid any impact on the team.
