In this image taken from video and provided by Kwansei Gakuin University, a Kwansei Gakuin quarterback, center, is tackled from behind by a Nihon University player during an American football game on May 6, 2018 in Tokyo.

TOKYO -- A third-party panel of lawyers hired by Nihon University -- known widely as Nichidai -- to investigate a dirty tackle carried out in May by a linebacker on its American football team acknowledged in a midterm report that the illegal tackle had been ordered by the team's coaches.

At a news conference held in Tokyo June 29, the panel said that not only was the tackle made under the instructions of then coach Tsutomu Inoue and then head coach Masato Uchida, but disclosed new information that efforts had been made by Nichidai staff to prevent team members and others from going public with the fact that the coaches had instructed the linebacker to make the dangerous tackle.

The panel heard testimony from some 70 people, including Nichidai American football team members, coaches, and others involved with the team. According to the interim report, on May 14, roughly a week after the game in question between the Nichidai and Kwansei Gakuin University American football teams took place on May 6, coach Inoue summoned Nichidai team members to the university's Sangenjaya campus in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward. There, a Nichidai staff member who had been waiting for the football players threatened them in an attempt to silence them, saying that if they told anyone that the dirty tackle had been intentional, the entire team would be slammed by the public.

Those close to the case say that the Nichidai staff member who made the remark was a former Nichidai American football player and a member of the Nichidai board of directors with a close relationship with Uchida. He, however, denies having any intention of silencing the players.

Two days later, on May 16, at the Nichidai headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, Nichidai staff asked several members of the football team not to testify that Uchida had ordered the illegal tackle. The interim report released by the third-party panel read, "The fact that attempts were made to cover up the orders cannot be overlooked."

The report also newly revealed that shortly after the Nichidai linebacker made the illegal tackle on the Kwansei Gakuin team's quarterback, Inoue approached Uchida, who was standing to his left, and said, "He did it, didn't he?" to which Uchida replied, "Uh-huh."

Attorney Mitsuhiro Katsumaru, head of the third-party panel, told the June 29 press conference that orders to execute foul plays were an everyday occurrence within the Nichidai football team under Uchida. "We found that similar instructions had repeatedly been given to other players as well," Katsumaru said.

Going forward, the third-party panel will be looking into Nichidai's governance system by hearing testimony from Nichidai President Kichibee Otsuka, who presides over all of Nichidai's athletic teams, and will come up with measures to prevent a recurrence. The panel's final report is expected to be submitted to Nichidai in late July.

Nichidai released a comment in response to the interim report, saying, "We respect the facts that have been confirmed through the investigation, and take them seriously."

(Japanese original by Kazuhiro Tahara, Tadashi Murakami and Akira Matsumoto, Sports News Department)