TOKYO - The world football governing body FIFA will hold a meeting on April 29 to determine a sanction against North Korea for crowd unrest at a World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang last month, a report said Friday.
FIFA has informed the Japan Football Association of the date as Japan will face North Korea in an Asian region qualifier in Pyongyang on June 8, the Jiji Press news agency said.
No Japanese football official was immediately available to confirm the report.
North Korean players roughed up a referee and fans threw chairs, bottles and other objects onto the pitch when the Stalinist state lost to Iran 2-0 at home on March 30. A bus carrying the Iranian team was also mobbed by North Koreans outside the Kim Il-Sung Stadium.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said here earlier this month that the FIFA disciplinary committee was investigating the case and that the panel has been always "very strong" in maintaining order and discipline in all competitions, especially the World Cup.
It has been reported that FIFA may authorize the Japan-North Korea qualifier without spectators or move its venue to a third country.
JFA president Saburo Kawabuchi has said the idea of staging the match in neutral Southeast Asia could be "better than holding a match with no spectators."
The Japanese government has already asked for assurances for the safety of its team and fans and said it would seek dialogue on the game with North Korea, despite the absence of diplomatic relations.
Japan have high hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals after a 1-0 win over Bahrain. They also beat North Korea 2-1 at home in their opening match of Asia's last-eight qualifying round. North Korea's dreams were all but crushed by their defeat to Iran.
Japan occupied the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945 and has not established ties with Pyongyang due to an emotional row over the regime's kidnappings of Japanese civilians up to the 1980s.
04/22/2005 13:15 GMT