Urawa Reds will make unwanted J. League history when they take on Shimizu S-Pulse at an empty Saitama Stadium on Sunday, and S-Pulse manager Afshin Ghotbi knows from experience that it will not be an occasion to savor.
Reds became the first team to be ordered to play a game behind closed doors when J. League chairman Mitsuru Murai handed down the punishment last week for a banner bearing the words "Japanese only," hung by fans over an entrance to the stands at a March 8 game.
The atmosphere at the 63,700-capacity Saitama Stadium — Japan's second-biggest ground — will be unlike anything the J. League has ever seen before, but Ghotbi has previous experience having suffered the same punishment while in charge of Iranian giants Persepolis in 2007.