I bow down and apologize...J-League, which opened hell before K-League, confirmed Niigata and Shonan

Oct 26, 2025

I bow down and apologize...J-League, which opened hell before K-League, confirmed Niigata and Shonan
◇A Niigata player lies on the lawn after the match between Alvirex Niigata and Vissel Kobe at the Denkavicswan Stadium in Niigata on the 26th. Source = Niigata SNS Video Capture



I bow down and apologize...J-League, which opened hell before K-League, confirmed Niigata and Shonan
◇Shonan Belmare players bow down in front of Shonan supporters after relegation was confirmed on the 26th. The fans applauded. Source =Shonan Belmare SNS Capture
The relegation 'Hell Gate' was held before the Korean K League.

In the 35th round of the 2025 J1 League (first division) held last weekend (25-26), the relegation of the two teams to the J2 League (second division) was confirmed. The lowest-ranked Albirex Niigata (23 points) is 17th-ranked Yokohama F on the 25th.The early relegation was decided as Marinos (37 points) won a 3-0 victory over fifth-place Sanfrecce Hiroshima (59 points). With four remaining games left in the J1 League, the difference in points from Marinos, ranked 17th, the remaining Maginot line, widened to 15 points. He is in a situation where he can only reach the maximum of 18th place. In the J1 League, where 20 clubs participate, the bottom three teams (18th-20th) will be automatically demoted like the English Premier League (EPL).

Niigata, who was promoted to the J1 League again in 2023 after relegation in 2018, was struggling in a winless swamp for 15 consecutive games after winning against the Marinos on June 15 before falling back to the second division in three years. Toru Irie, who took over as a firefighter at the end of June, failed to extinguish the fire without winning a single game until the 35th round. Analysts say that the massive change of sending seven players off and recruiting seven players in the summer transfer market has added instability to the team.




I bow down and apologize...J-League, which opened hell before K-League, confirmed Niigata and Shonan
◇Alvirex Niigata President Yukio Nakano publicly apologized after the relegation to the J2 League was confirmed. It is a landscape that cannot be seen in the K-League. Source = Niigata SNS Video Capture
Nakano Yukio, president of the club, and Yoshito Terakawa, head of the training department, bowed and apologized at a press conference held after the 35th round match against Vissel Kobe at Denkabixwan Stadium in Niigata City on the 26th. Nakano said, `We have a great responsibility for strengthening the team and operating the organization. I sincerely apologize." Niigata had to take solace in spraying 'Chili powder' in a 2-2 draw against Kobe (62 points), the fourth-place winner in the championship race.

Shonan Belmare (26 points), ranked 19th, also suffered a setback on the 26th. Shonan, who led the game with three consecutive opening wins, fell from Yokohama FC (0-1 loss) on May 17 to Abispa Fukuoka (0-1 loss) on May 26 after his last victory in Tokyo Verdi (2-0 win) on May 11 to fall to the relegation zone. With three games left, the point gap with Marinos widened to 11, making it impossible to chase.

Last summer, defender Junnosuke Suzuki (Copenhagen), striker Fukuda Sho (Bronby), and defender Hata Taiga (Sintrawidan) went overseas one after another, and Naoto Kamifukumoto, the main goalkeeper, suffered a long-term injury. He allowed 59 runs, the most among the 20 teams.




Kim Min-tae, a former South Korean youth defender who moved from Kashima Antlers to Shonan in 2024, left for a short-term loan until the end of the season in August due to Shimizu S-Pulse. Shimizu (44 points), ranked 13th, confirmed his stay based on Kim Min-tae's stable defense. Of course, the relegation of the original team is not 'Good News' for the rental player.

I bow down and apologize...J-League, which opened hell before K-League, confirmed Niigata and Shonan
출처=요코하마 F.Marinos SNS
Marinos, who were in the midst of an all-time crisis, had a dramatic chance of staying due to the relegation of the two teams. Marinos, who faced their first relegation crisis since their foundation, recently reversed their rankings with 18th-ranked Yokohama FC (32 points) with three games remaining through two consecutive wins. Currently, there is a five-point gap, and early stay can be confirmed through 36 rounds. Coach Hideo Oshima, who played as a leading striker for Marinos in the mid-to-late 2000s, took office in June and drew a dramatic turnaround. Playing for Marinos, Jun Amano scored an additional goal against Hiroshima to support his 3-0 victory. Marinos' Yokohama rival Yokohama FC will fall back to the second division in one season after being promoted to the second place in the J2 League in the 2024 season.

The first half of the J-League in the 2026 season (February to June) will be held as a "100-year plan league" without promotion and relegation in preparation for the 2026-2027 season, which will switch to the Chuchun system. J1 will determine the final ranking through a playoff round between the same teams in the East and West leagues after each of the 10 teams is divided into East and West leagues, and the winning team will be given the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) ticket. Niigata and Shonan will participate in the J2 League from the 2026-2027 season.




Meanwhile, the relegation team of K League 1 has not yet been decided until round 34, the first game of the split round. Daegu FC (28 points), ranked 12th in the direct relegation zone, has seven points difference from Jeju United (35 points), ranked 11th in the promotion and playoffs, with four games remaining. Daegu led with Kim Joo-gong's first goal in the first half in an away game in Ulsan on the 26th, but allowed Lee Chung-yong to score a theater equalizer in the fifth minute of extra time in the second half to draw 1-1. Jeju beat Suwon FC 2-1 on the 25th and won in 11 games, increasing the gap from 5 to 7. In the K-League, the 12th place will be directly demoted, the 11th place will be second in the K-League 2, and the 10th place will play the K-League 2 playoff winner.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.