Japan coach Aguirre fired amid fix row

Japan national soccer team coach Javier Aguirre has been fired for his alleged involvement in a 2011 match-fixing scandal in Spain, local media reported Tuesday.

"We have reached the decision to terminate the contract with coach Aguirre at this time," Japan Football Association (JFA) president Kuniya Daini told a nationally televised press conference.

"We have come to the conclusion that we must avoid the risk that these things will affect the World Cup Asia qualifiers."

Reportedly, 56-year-old Aguirre and 40 others were involved in the fixing of a match in 2011 during Aguirre's time as coach of Spanish club Real Zaragoza. In the match, Zaragoza beat Levante 2-1 to avoid relegation.

Aguirre is due to appear in court this month in Valencia, Spain, to answer charges. Spanish prosecutors claim that Zaragoza paid a total of 965,000 euros (1.2 million US dollars) into the bank accounts of certain coaches, staff and players who then gave the money to Levante's players as a "bribe".

Mexico-born Aguirre took over the Japan coaching job from Alberto Zaccheroni after last summer's World Cup in Brazil. He was reportedly the country's highest-ever paid national coach on an estimated 2.45 million dollars annually, but under whom the Blue Samurai fizzled on the field.

The Japanese team lost on penalties in the quarter-final to the United Arab Emirates, failing to defend their Asian Cup title, which compounded calls for Aguirre to go.

Daini stressed that his organization was not presuming Aguirre's guilt in a case that is still a long way from finished, but said it wanted to avoid any impact on Japan's campaign for the World Cup in Russia.

"If and once he were to be charged, we would have no choice but to release him from the coach's position," Daini said.

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