Koji Miyoshi Targeted by Scam on Social Media

Midfielder Koji Miyoshi, who recently‍ made a full transfer from English third ‌division Birmingham City to Bundesliga (German ‌first division) VfL Bochum in August 2024, ‍was targeted by a scam on his social media ⁢account while he was ‌expected ⁤to‍ return to play for Borussia Dortmund ⁢in the fifth Bundesliga match‌ on September 28.

The 27-year-old ‍midfielder stepped up from the English‌ third division to the ‌German first division on the final day of the summer transfer window in⁣ 2024. On August 31, the day after the transfer was confirmed, he uploaded a photo of himself wearing a Birmingham uniform⁤ and⁣ expressed his gratitude to the Birmingham supporters. However, he was inundated with critical and ‍abusive messages in Arabic, with ⁣the​ number of messages reaching ​close to 10,000.

The ‌incident occurred due ⁢to a misunderstanding involving a​ Japanese team of referees in the‍ FIFA World Cup North and Central America Asian⁢ Final ⁢Qualifiers between Kuwait and Iraq. Japanese referee Hiroyuki Kimura ​showed ​a red card‌ to Iraqi⁢ defender Levin Sulaka, which led to an Iraqi ⁢supporter mistaking Miyoshi for Kimura and spamming ⁤the player’s Instagram post.

Despite Arabic posts ⁤calling for an end to the abusive messages, the ‍trolling by Iraqi supporters continued. This incident highlights the risks of social media harassment and the⁣ importance ⁤of verifying information before reacting.

This⁢ is not​ the ‍first time a Japanese player has been targeted⁢ by social media harassment. In January 2022, Japanese midfielder Junya Ito was the target of attacks from the Middle East ‌after updating ⁤his Instagram. He received ⁢a ⁣series‍ of abusive messages from Saudi Arabian ⁣supporters before ​the kickoff of the ⁣match against Saudi ‌Arabia on February 1.