Urawa Reds drew 1-1 with Shimizu S-Pulse on Sunday in the first J. League game to be played behind closed doors, as punishment for a discriminatory banner hung by Urawa fans earlier this month.
Shun Nagasawa opened the scoring in the 19th minute only for Urawa's Genki Haraguchi to equalize in the 76th minute, settling a match played in a surreal atmosphere at an empty Saitama Stadium where advertising hoardings were absent and pre-match festivities were replaced by messages denouncing racism.
The one-game supporter ban was punishment for a banner bearing the words "Japanese only," written in English and hung over an entrance to the stands at a March 8 game against Sagan Tosu.