The one thing that most of us have seen with Japan in football is discipline. Be it the players or the fans, they are respectful to the place they are in, especially the fans. But for some people, they use this good deed as a taunt, and one of them was commentator Rob Stone.

“And the pain on Japan, they are now winless in 5 knockout stage games, their fanbase stunned and….they still have to clean up the stadium when this one is done,” said commentator Rob Stone after Japan lost 2-1 to Brazil in heartbreaking fashion.

Japan came so close, yet after the game, it felt so far. Japan was moments away from taking the Round of 32 game against Brazil to extra time, but a goal by Gabriel Martinelli in the 90+5 minute ended the hopes of reaching the Round of 16 as they lost 2-1. 

After the final whistle, we could see the fans and players shocked and in tears and struggling to accept the loss. 

And while the Japanese team and fans were going through this emotional moment, commentator Rob Stone taunted the fans by pointing to their habit of leaving the place spotless and clean after every game. 

But for Japanese fans, this isn’t something they force themselves to do; they see this as their duty.  

The tradition began during the 1998 World Cup and has continued until now, no matter what the result is. Fans usually stay behind carrying blue bags, collecting rubbish before leaving their section completely clean.  

They see cleaning shared spaces as a simple responsibility learned through school, culture, and everyday life.  

That same tradition continued after heartbreaking defeats against Belgium in 2018. And that defeat was even worse because Japan led the game 2-0 going into halftime but ended up losing the game 3-2. 

But even after such painful eliminations, Japanese fans have always stayed back instead of walking away from their responsibility. That explains why many viewers felt the broadcaster’s comment was more hurtful and condescending than anything else. 

Football fans lose it after broadcaster makes a harsh comment after Japan loss

After this comment, many fans flooded social media calling out the broadcaster and his words.

“This shithead is aptly named, because after dissing our beloved brothers, I want to both Rob and Stone him,” said one fan. While another added, “Tf kind of horseshit comment is that? Taking a shot at Japanese fans cuz they actually clean up after themselves?”

The fans are so pissed because the Japanese fans are not forced to clean the stand they are in before they leave. They do it out of respect; they do it out of the love they have for the place. They have done it when they had wins against teams like Tunisia, and they also did it when they lost games like against Croatia on penalties in the 2022 World Cup.

“Very distasteful to mention Japan fans “having” to clean up after the game,” said a fan. And he is right because for the Japanese, it is a part of their culture, and this comment by Rob Stone felt like they took a shot at the culture of the Japanese fans. In Japan, teachers teach people to leave the place cleaner than when they arrived.

The practice reflects consideration for everyone who uses the space after them.

“Ok, @RobStoneONFOX, the ‘They still have to clean up the stadium’ comment was a low and unprofessional cheap shot,” and it is a cheap shot because the Japanese fans have not been the only ones to join hands in this initiative. In the opening group match against the Netherlands, NFL star Jameis Winston also joined hands. He also wore a Japan jersey and helped fans clean the stadium.

“Rob Stone chose to be an a*****e. Japan doesn’t have to do shit,” wrote a fan who has seen the Japanese team be respectful regardless of the condition of the game. We saw this in the 2022 World Cup when they lost 1-0 to Costa Rica. The fans were still there, holding trash bags and segregating the waste and disposing them cleanly.

And this is because the Nippon Ultras have a different motive than what other Ultras have. Before every game, they distribute around 3,000 blue plastic bags to supporters. The bag also contains info of the local regulations for disposing of waste to help the fans.

And as the Ultras say, “We don’t make fights. We make good friends.”