Two former coaches of a university American football team in Tokyo received a lifetime ban from competition Tuesday after one of their players injured a rival with a dangerous late tackle earlier this month.

The ruling body for college football in the capital and the surrounding area handed former Nihon University head coach Masato Uchida and former assistant coach Tsutomu Inoue its heaviest possible punishment, after determining that the two ordered the foul play.

(Masato Uchida, left, and Tsutomu Inoue)

Taisuke Miyagawa, the 20-year-old linebacker who injured a quarterback of archrival Kwansei Gakuin University during a game on May 6, said last week he was instructed by his coaches to "crush" the player.

The coaches, however, have denied giving explicit instructions to injure the player, and blamed the incident on miscommunication.

The Kantoh Collegiate Football Association decided to expel the two at an extraordinary meeting of its board of directors Tuesday night, following an investigation by its disciplinary committee which held an interview with about 20 people who were present.

The KCFA also disqualified Taku Mori, Nihon University's defensive coordinator, as an instructor of the sport, the second-heaviest punishment after expulsion, while suspending Miyagawa and his teammates from official matches until the end of the current season.

"It was a vicious and nasty play, and I'm sorry that a player was injured," association chief Yuji Kakizawa said at a press conference. "Anyone who knows the sport can tell, that play was not football."

Uchida and Inoue's expulsion is subject to approval by representatives from the KCFA's members. Nihon University's suspension may be lifted at mid-season if the team adopts sufficient preventive measures, the association said.

American football is a relatively minor sport in Japan, but the incident involving two of the country's best university teams has attracted nationwide attention.

Investigative sources said Tuesday that police have questioned Nihon University officials about the incident on a voluntary basis.

The questioning was conducted Monday by the Metropolitan Police Department after the victim of the late tackle, Kosei Okuno, filed an official complaint with the police last week.

With a full-scale investigation into the Nihon University football team in sight, the police are likely to hear from Uchida and Inoue. The focal point of the investigation will be whether the coaches indeed ordered the rough play.

Okuno returned to competition Sunday after recovering from injuries to his back and elsewhere. The sophomore said he would like to meet Miyagawa on the field again in a fair competition, and hopes the incident does not tarnish the image of the sport.

Miyagawa's teammates released a statement on Tuesday apologizing for the incident, saying they deserved a share of the blame for "blindly following" orders from Uchida and Inoue.