A senior representative from the Japanese soccer governing body has been given an one-and-a-half-year suspended jail term in France after getting discovered accessing content that depict minors being abused while traveling on an plane.
Technical director Masanaga Kageyama was detained last week during a layover at Charles de Gaulle airport, according to court documents, which noted that he eventually acknowledged to looking at the content, stating he was did not know it was against the law in the country.
He was understood to have been en route for the International youth tournament in Chile.
The football association announced that his position would be ended with immediate effect, adding that the situation was "unacceptable behavior to the football world".
Legal Proceedings
The prosecution informed media outlets that the cabin staff had alerted authorities after they noticed Kageyama looking at the inappropriate material on the aircraft.
He had been operating his laptop in a premium seating area of an commercial aircraft, and when approached he had claimed that the pictures were "art" and digitally created, according to official statements.
Sentencing
On the beginning of the week, the court sentenced the defendant to a suspended prison sentence and a fine of five thousand euros - combined with a decade-long prohibition on employment involving youth or visiting the nation.
Official Statement
In a statement, the football association issued an apology for the "distress" the incident had generated.
"This event is unacceptable behavior to the football world," governing body head commented. "While we have been dealing with this concern, we will use this incident as an opportunity to review the oversight and ethical standards of the football world and to thoroughly strengthen and advance it."
Career History
Kageyama is a ex-player who ended his playing career in the mid-1990s before taking on the role of a staff member to national soccer teams. He also did stints managing teams in the special administrative region and the Southeast Asian nation.
