Football Notes: J.League Chair Says November World Cup Would Disrupt Japan Football

J.League Chair Mitsuru Murai said that a November start to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar "would cause severe disruption to Japan's domestic football schedule." He said, "If the World Cup does start in November, it would come right at the peak of the Japanese season. It would therefore have an extremely big impact on our schedule. But it's a World Cup in Asia -- and so we will have to cooperate by cramming in games in order to help make it a success" (AFP, 3/2). ... The violence that marred the Sydney A-League derby on Saturday "will be investigated by police." Parramatta police were told on Monday that "four Sydney FC fans were attacked by a large group of men, believed to be Western Sydney Wanderers supporters, in the Parramatta CBD after the match on Saturday night." A small number of fans "were set upon by a group of up to 30 men wearing black clothing bearing the insignia of a supporters' group while walking from Pirtek stadium to Parramatta station" (THE AGE, 3/2).