The Japan Football Association on Thursday said it had put on hold the decision it made earlier in the day to send Junya Ito away from the national team, which is playing at the Asian Cup, after a sexual assault allegation.
“We’re now working toward keeping him on the team,” Masakuni Yamamoto, the national team director, said in Doha.
Two women have claimed Ito sexually assaulted them last year, but his lawyer said the player has denied their claims and has filed a criminal complaint for false allegations.
Japan is preparing to play its Asian Cup quarterfinal match against Iran on Saturday in Al Rayyan, just west of the Qatari capital.
Yamamoto said the whole team wants Ito to stay, adding there is still a possibility he may be sent away.
JFA executives are scheduled to discuss the matter on Friday.
Earlier Thursday, the governing body announced that Ito, a midfielder with French club Stade de Reims, would leave the national team, saying the issue “demands a cautious response” and that the move was out of consideration for the player’s mental and physical condition.
The 30-year-old Ito is under investigation by Osaka police after the women filed a criminal complaint against him, according to an investigative source.