Referee Yoshitsugu Katayama has received a suspension until the end of the month along with two other match officials for an officiating blunder in a J. League first-division match between Vissel Kobe and Kashiwa Reysol on Saturday.
Japan Football Association officials of the referee committee said Tuesday Katayama will not be named to officiate J. League matches along with referees Hiroyuki Ajiki and Hisaharu Kitamura for their roles in a late substitution mistake at Kashiwa Stadium.
Katayama handed Kashiwa midfielder Ryo Kobayashi his second yellow card and sent him off for time-wasting after the player took too long leaving the pitch to make way for substitute Harutaka Ono in the 87th minute.
But Katayama allowed Ono to come on for Kobayashi and play the remainder of the match even though he had just given Kobayashi the red card. Kashiwa went on to win the match 1-0, sending bottom club Kobe deeper into relegation trouble with eight matches left.