The JFA said it had not decided on a replacement for Aguirre.

Justice JFA, as he's known, is serious-minded, as witness his intense gaze.

In April, the JFA said Nishino would manage the team until the end of the tournament.

Ogura is a vice-president of Japan's football association, the JFA, and he spoke yesterday of the need to protect his clubs from invasion.

The JFA president Kuniya Daini said they feared the inquiry would be a distraction during Japan's campaign to qualify for the next World Cup.

I don't know how people can make fun of it. The Japan Football Association (JFA) also expressed its concern about the bad-taste gag.

Aguirre has denied any wrongdoing after being named in a Spanish anti-corruption investigation, and the JFA had stood by him during last month's Asian Cup.

The JFA stuck by the 56-year-old Aguirre during the tournament where the Samurai Blue were defending the title they won in 2011.