"There has been some backlash from fans expressing anger and disappointment on Chinese social media platform Weibo. Onoda held out in the Philippine jungle for 29 years before surrendering, because he did not believe the war had ended. He received a hero's welcome on his return to Japan. The Philippine government granted him a pardon, despite killing 30 people on the island of Lubang that he mistook for the enemy."
""The club sincerely apologises for any offence caused in China by a recent post about our academy's participation in the Premier League Christmas Truce Tournament," the club's academy said in a post on X. "We hugely value our fans in China and had no intention of causing any offence." Alongside the image, the post said the club's under-12s boys team had won the Premier League Education Project and would be going to Belgium to play in the Christmas Truce Cup."
Brighton's academy posted an image featuring Japan international Kaoru Mitoma and a youth player holding a football card of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese World War Two soldier who formally surrendered 29 years after the conflict. The image sparked backlash on Chinese social media because of Japan's wartime atrocities, prompting anger and disappointment on Weibo. The club's academy issued an apology, said it valued fans in China and had no intention to offend. The post noted the under-12s had won the Premier League Education Project and would travel to Belgium for the Christmas Truce Cup, which has educational aims tied to World War I ceasefires.
Read at www.bbc.com
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