In the second round of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup quarterfinals, Japanese team Cerezo Osaka suffered a staggering 1-6 defeat by the Korean team Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. While the loss was disappointing for Japanese soccer fans, a separate incident has caused an uproar among Japanese and Koreans alike: during the match supporters of the Korean team hung a banner that read, in Japanese, “We celebrate the Great East Japan Earthquake.”

Though the banner was removed during the first half of the match at the request of a representative from the Japanese team, news of the incident quickly spread on Japanese internet message boards, inviting a flood of furious responses.

Korean media reported Japanese reaction to the incident along with a photo of the banner, stating: “the Japanese people, not to mention supporters of team Cerezo Osaka, are indignant” and “utterly disappointed at Korea’s lack of sportsmanship.”

Many Korean internet users also expressed shame toward the incident, commenting that the immorality of this act has harmed the merit of the Korean nation. Others expressed the view that “though we won the match, this is a huge loss for us.”

Source：dc news（Korean only）