Full name Minoru Tojo 2008–present J-League Years League Name Minoru Tojo | Years League 2008–present J. League Division 2 2007–present FIFA | |
Born August 30, 1976 (age 47)
Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan ( 1976-08-30 ) | ||
Minoru Tōjō (東城 穣, Tōjō Minoru, born August 30, 1976 in Tokorozawa, Saitama) is a Japanese association football referee who currently officiates in the J-League, and Div. 2. Since 2007 he has been an international referee.
Career
Since becoming a professional referee in 2008, Minoru has been refereeing in the J-League and Div. 2. He has also officiated the 2008 AFC President's Cup group stage game between Dordoi-Dynamo Naryn and Nagacorp FC. He has refereed in the 2008 AFC Cup, officiating 3 matches. He has also covered in the 2009 AFC Champions League officiating 3 games, likewise in the 2010 AFC Champions League. He also, as a guest referee, officiated the final game of the Polish Ekstraklasa between Legia Warsaw and Lech Poznan.
International matches
To date, Minoru has officiated four full internationals, as well as being a referee in the 2008 AFC U-16 Championship. He has also refereed three friendlies, and a 2011 Asian Cup qualification game.
He refereed the FIFA World Cup 2014 Third Round Qualifier match between Singapore and Iraq on 6 September 2011, making a controversial decision where he denied Singapore a blatant penalty.
He was the referee for the Southeast Asian Games final match between Malaysia and Indonesia on 21 November 2011 and was widely praised for his calm refereeing of the match between the two great rivals.