It has been revealed that on 14 May, that Bundesliga side Werder Bremen will not be releasing Yuya Osako to play for Japan in the Tokyo Olympics in 2019. The club has rejected his call-up invitation for the Copa America in June as well.

A Bremen official said, “We will not send him to the Tokyo Olympics, as well as the Asian tournament in December (EAFF E-1 Football Championship in Korea Republic). We’re not obligated to release him for these competitions.”

Osaka played an active role in the Asian Cup in January, where he scored four goals in four matches, but he returned to Bremen with a long-term back injury. To safeguard their asset, Bremen had informed the JFA in February that they would not let him participate in June’s Copa America.

An integral member of the national team, the 28 year-old Osako was a top candidate to represent the country in the Olympics as one of the three allowed over-age players. Manager Hajime Moriyasu, who is in charge of both the national and Tokyo Olympic teams, has now been forced to review his strategies.

FIFA stipulates the call up of players by football federations for international “A” matches. For international association football competitions such as the Asian Cup, the football federations are allowed to call up continental players for one tournament a year. The Olympics does not fall under the control of FIFA, and thus the deciding power rests with the players’ clubs.

In the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Yuya Kubo (then with Young Boys) was blocked from participating by his club, whereas Neymar (then with Barcelona) turned out for Brazil.

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Source: Yahoo

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