AFC rejects Indonesia's request in 2026 World Cup qualifiers

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has maintained its decision to assign a referee team from Kuwait to officiate the match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia in the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

Referee Ahmed Al-Ali will still be in charge of Indonesia's match against Saudi Arabia.

AFC has finalized the list of referees to officiate Indonesia's two matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers' fourth round. Notably, AFC still maintains the original assignment, appointing Mr. Ahmed Al-Ali (Kuwait) as the main referee in the match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia on October 8.

Al-Ali's assistants include Abdul Al-Anzi, Ahmed Abbas and Ammar Ashknani, while the VAR referee is Abdullah Jamali and assistant VAR Abdullah Al-Kandari.

Previously, when there was information that a referee team from Kuwait was arranged to officiate this match, the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) was not satisfied. According to PSSI, AFC had promised not to let referees from the West Asian region of Indonesia to officiate matches against Iraq or Saudi Arabia. Therefore, PSSI President - Erick Thohir sent a letter to AFC, requesting to replace them with more "neutral" referees from Australia, Japan, China or Europe.

The reason why Indonesia is wary of West Asian referees stems from previous controversies. In the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, referee Ahmed Akaf (Oman) was heavily criticized for adding more than 10 minutes of extra time in the match between Indonesia and Bahrain, even though the scoreboard only said 6 minutes. This decision allowed Bahrain to score an equalizer in the final minute of extra time, making PSSI angry and leaving a skeptical mentality among referees in the same region.

PSSI once recommended not allowing West Asian referees to officiate Indonesia's matches.

Meanwhile, in the match against Iraq on October 11, AFC assigned a team of Chinese referees to officiate. The main referee was Mr. Ma Ning - a famously strict person who often gave out cards to players who committed fouls on the field. His assistants included Zhou Fei, Zhang Shang and Shen Yan Hu. VAR was handled by referee Fu Ming, with the support of Thai assistant - Sivakorn Bo Adom.

The AFC’s decision shows that the body wants to maintain stability in refereeing, despite pressure from PSSI. This will be a big challenge for Indonesia, because the fear of West Asian referees still exists after past controversies.

Source: https://znews.vn/afc-tu-choi-yeu-cua-indonesia-o-vong-loai-world-cup-2026-post1586348.html