FIFA, the world’s soccer governing organization, ruled that North Korea’s home qualifier against Japan will not be played in Pyongyang, but in a closed stadium at a neutral venue. The decision not to play in NK was made as punishment for crowd violence at matches against Bahrain and Iran in Pyongyang last month.

The Japanese side welcomed the decision and expressed a desire to play the match in Malaysia. Japan does not want to play the game in China, due to the anti-Japanese atmosphere that was ignited by disputes over Japanese textbooks, territorial disputes, and other disagreements between the two countries.

Last year, during a soccer tournament in China, Chinese fans heckled Japanese players, booed during Japan’s national anthem, pelted Japanese fans with garbage and hung banners criticizing Japan.