The AFC Ethics and Discipline Committee recently made a blockbuster ruling, and Japan's J-League powerhouse Sanfrecce Hiroshima won 6-1 in the first leg of the AFC Champions League qualifying match to be changed to a 0-3 defeat. The punishment, which caused a shock in Asian football, stemmed from the illegal appearance of French striker Germain, which exposed a major loophole in the qualification process of professional clubs.

The trigger for the incident dates back to the 2024 AFC Cup. Germain, who was playing for Macarthur FC in the Australian Super League at the time, was suspended for three additional matches by the AFC for slapping an opponent against Central Coast Mariners in February. It is worth noting that although Macarthur did not participate in the continental competition in the future, according to the AFC regulations, the suspension will be extended to "the individual in the next official club match of the same level of continental football".

In the AFC Champions League qualifier against Singapore's Lion City Mariners on 5 March, Sanfrecce Hiroshima's coaching staff brought on the new striker in the 69th minute. Germain lived up to expectations, scoring his first goal five minutes later to help his side sweep 6-1. However, this script, which was supposed to be an inspirational story, was shocked by a post-match review by technical officials. The AFC investigation revealed that the club apparently ignored the player's suspension status, resulting in a major breach.

The final penalty was a "triple blow": the result of the game was directly changed to a 0-3 loss, the club was fined $1,000, and the original $160,000 promotion prize was also cut in half. To add insult to injury, the team was already burdened with a three-goal deficit before the second leg even began. The failure of the club's technical department to update the AFC's disciplinary database in a timely manner exposed systemic deficiencies in the preparation of J-League teams for international competitions.

Interestingly, the Lion City Sailors Club has maintained a cautious silence, and this "cold treatment" may have stemmed from a wait-and-see attitude towards follow-up investigations. Sanfrecce Hiroshima, on the other hand, admitted that it had received an advance warning from the AFC, but insisted that there were "differences in the interpretation of the rules". The turmoil is not only a wake-up call for Asian clubs, but also reveals the fragility of the information-sharing mechanism for bans in the transfer of multinational players.