Japan international Junya Ito has filed a lawsuit against two women who accused him of sexual assault, seeking compensation of 200 million yen (1.2 million euros), the player’s lawyer said on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old midfielder, who plays for French club Reims, claims false accusations made by two women in Japan have caused serious damage to his image, leading to his exclusion from the Japanese team that competed in the Asian Cup in Qatar.
“It is very important to clear your name as quickly as possible, because the player’s career is very short,” said the Japanese player’s lawyer Hirotaro Kato.
The allegations against Ito were made in June 2023 at a hotel in Osaka after a game between Japan and Peru, according to Japanese media, which also implicated his fitness coach.
Despite being excluded from the Japanese national team, Ito was used in Reims, ranked eighth in the French league, which from the very beginning expressed itself as “supportive (…), awaiting concrete data that would clarify the facts assumed” by these two players. women.