21 May 2007(Mon)

May 18, 2007: The Kazuki Ganaha Case has been a good lesson for all, especially for club doctors who should know better.

And, I must say, it has been extremely well handled by all parties.

First by Frontale themselves, on learning that Ganaha had received medication via an intravenous injection -- treatment banned by both FIFA and the J.League, even though no illegal substance was involved.

And second by the J.League, who issued a six-match ban on the player, backdated four games.

That punishment, along with a fine of 10 million yen for the club, suited the "crime", and served as a reminder to all clubs about the regulations.

Some hard-line anti-doping lobbyists may think Frontale/Ganaha escaped lightly, but sports authorities can frequently over-react when faced with such an emotional, complex issue, and end up handing out punishments that are too severe due to inflexible guidelines. So well done to the J.League for getting this one spot on.

The suspension came to end following Frontale's 3-1 win at Kofu on May 13, and, at the time of writing, Ganaha is pencilled in for an instant recall at Oita on Saturday.

In Ganaha's absence, several players have taken up the responsibility of scoring goals, one of them being Yusuke Mori at Kofu last weekend. The right winger scored a lovely goal with the outside of his right foot, and, at the start of Golden Week, had provided a wonderful cross for Chong Tese to head home at the far post against JEF United.

The boy has talent, but also has a short fuse. To use some English slang, Mori could be described as "a bit of a nutter", or "nutcase" if you prefer -- they are both perfectly appropriate. JEF fans know this only too well from the controversial Nabisco Cup semi-final last season, and, during the recent game between the two sides at Todoroki, Mori puzzled me by staying down, pretending he was injured, as JEF pressed for an unlilkely winner near the end.

He would have been better off getting up and helping his team defend, but instead got himself a yellow card for dissent on jumping back to his feet and launching a tirade against the linesman.

There's never a dull moment these days at Todoroki.

ends