JAPAN star Yuki Kobayashi claimed that a referee threatened to KILL him after waving away his appeals for a corner.
The 28-year-old was playing for Qatari side Al-Khor during their 3-1 defeat to Al-Gharafa on Monday.
Japan star Yuki Kobayashi claimed that a referee threatened to kill him in QatarCredit: Rex Features
Kobayashi revealed that he appealed to the ref for a corner late in the match when one of his team-mates had a shot that struck a defender.
But the attacking midfielder alleged that the official instead chose to award a goal-kick.
When Kobayashi approached the ref to ask why a corner hadn’t been given, the Japan international said he was told that a ‘small touch is no touch’.
The former Heerenveen star alleged that the referee then proceeded to laugh at him before issuing a threat against his life.
He tweeted: “I told him ‘Are you serious?? This is no respect’ then after, he said ‘you’re my opponent from now. I’m gonna kill you’.
“We’re playing for club, for the team for family, for life.
“It doesn’t matter the team is big club or small club. It doesn’t matter the player is famous or not.
“Football must be fair and respect players. You can’t say ‘kill you’ to the people. I hope that it will never happen again.”
Japan legend Keisuke Honda was among the people commenting on Kobayashi’s story.
He wrote: “Yuki, I’m proud of you to said it bravely. It’s unbelievable what the referee said to you.
“Hope they are gonna change something to better way.”
Ex-Arsenal ace Mihoko Ishida was also a rockstar in Japan during her playing days
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
