Exchange Student Who Sucker Punched Referee in Japan Leaves School, Returns to Home Country

The exchange student playing for Miyazaki Prefecture’s Nobeoka Gakuen High School, whose name was not revealed in the official report, showed what is resoundingly considered poor sportsmanship after he punched a referee in the face for calling him out for a foul during a game with Fukuoka Prefecture’s Ohori High School last week.

The referee that he hit suffered injuries that required 10 stitches. However, instead of charging the student for assault, he forgave the student after he apologized for what he did while in front of the authorities.

The student’s action severely affected the team’s chance to compete at Japan’s national high school basketball tournament on August 23 after winning the Miyazaki prefectural championship in May. But after the incident, the school officially announced their withdrawal for the competition, and that their players will just stay at home in August, according to SoraNews24.

Nobeoka Gakuen also announced that they will not be playing any sports against other schools for the next three months.

They are also planning to hire a French-speaking instructor to help other exchange students from the Republic of the Congo that are currently in the school’s boys and girls basketball teams to help them with emotional and psychological care.

The coach of the team, meanwhile, was officially removed from his position and has been placed on suspension indefinitely from his position as a health and physical education (P.E.) teacher.