Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo issued a statement yesterday on the official website about their midfielder Takuma Arano’s unsporting behavior during Wednesday’s Levain Cup match against Cerezo Osaka.
The 24-year-old midfielder had been blamed after he dug a hole at the penalty spot with his heel of his boot when the referee once awarded a penalty kick to Cerezo, which was later canceled, with an intention to make a penalty taker fall over and make a mistake.
Arano said he was sorry for his “ungentlemanly and thoughtless behavior” which is an “unacceptable conduct in any situation” on the club’s official website. The club also “deeply apologize for causing trouble and making people feel unpleasant,” while they didn’t express an intention to give him a sanction.
— うっちぃ。CerezoOsaka🌸 (@mikihouse4) July 26, 2017
Other inadequate behavior was also observed during the match as Arano pushed Toshiki Onozawa over, which was totally unnecessary.