The whole country's national anthem is beautiful? Compliments Ashley Westwood, director of Hong Kong, speaks across the line

Jul 09, 2025

The whole country's national anthem is beautiful? Compliments Ashley Westwood, director of Hong Kong, speaks across the line
Photo=Capture EAFF's official website



This is shocking. Ashley Westwood, the head coach of the Hong Kong national football team, made a remark that crossed the line. In the process of raising the opponent after the game against Japan, praise even occurred to the country. Warring States, Japan's national anthem quickly became "Beautiful Song".

Hong Kong lost 1-6 to Japan in the first match of the 2025 East Asian Football Confederation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 8th. He was dragged away by allowing five goals in the first half alone. He tried to counterattack in the second half, but failed to cross Japan's wall.

After the game, coach Ashley Westwood said, `The results tell us everything. But defeat is a lesson. It also serves as a springboard for growth. The young players of our team checked their skills against the Asian strong team. I think it will lead to growth. We have no choice but to praise Japan's way of playing, system and style. Japan is a very good team. The quality is also high. Japan is not afraid of any team. Although there were many young players on the team that clashed in this match, their performance was at the highest level enough."




The whole country's national anthem is beautiful? Compliments Ashley Westwood, director of Hong Kong, speaks across the line
Asked about the "biggest difference between Hong Kong and Japan", he said, "Japan has a well-organized league from J1 to J3. Hong Kong has a Premier League but not many below it. Japan thinks there will be more teams in J3 alone. Forty to 50 teams have a competitive structure. In Japan, all players who want to enter the first team have dedicated an age-specific development system. I play soccer from an early age and there are stadiums and training places. Japan has invested heavily. You can't compare the two countries in football. We are in the development phase. I need time. If you develop every year even in a long journey, you will eventually be rewarded,' he praised the opponent. However, it has gone too far. He continued to praise Japan's soccer style and uniforms, and eventually even praised the opponent's country. Japan is a war criminal country. The song they are singing as the national anthem was sung during the so-called imperialism. Director Ashley Westwood praised the war crimes nation in front of the victims.

It's a sensitive issue. Recently, Newcastle, a member of the English Premier League (EPL), caused controversy over its war crimes. Earlier, the Newcastle club learned that a flag that could unintentionally offend had appeared in a promotional video for the third uniform released recently. Accordingly, the video was immediately excluded. We have taken steps to remove the scene in question from the content in the future. I sincerely apologize to those who felt unpleasant. The use of war criminals is also strictly prohibited by FIFA.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.