A Myanmar national soccer goalkeeper applied for refugee status in Japan on Tuesday after expressing fear for his life for giving a three-finger salute in protest at the military coup in his country during a recent World Cup qualifier near Tokyo, his lawyer said.
Pyae Lyan Aung, who refused to return home with his teammates last week after the football match, submitted an application with the Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau, according to the lawyer.
During the match between Japan and Myanmar in Chiba in late May, the goalkeeper, who came on as a substitute, raised three fingers of his right hand with "WE NEED JUSTICE" written on them in English while Myanmar's national anthem was being played. The salute has been used as a show of resistance in Myanmar to the Feb. 1 coup.