Indonesia files lawsuit for injustice, AFC speaks up to judge

(Dan Tri) - The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has responded after Indonesia filed a complaint about the Kuwaiti referee being assigned to officiate the match against Saudi Arabia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Recently, the AFC decided to appoint a referee team from Kuwait, with main referee Ahmed Al-Ali, to officiate the match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers taking place in October. Notably, the AFC had previously promised not to arrange West Asian referees to officiate Indonesia's matches with Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

AFC does not change the West Asian referee to officiate the match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia (Photo: Getty).

Faced with this situation, PSSI sent a letter to AFC requesting a change in referee assignments. PSSI President Erick Thohir was concerned that West Asian referees would make decisions that would favor the two teams in this region.

Instead, he wants referees from Australia, Japan, China or Europe to "judge" Garuda's (the Indonesian team's nickname) matches against two West Asian opponents.

Today, the AFC has responded to Indonesia’s complaint. Accordingly, the Asian football authority decided to maintain the decision on referee assignment. They do not want to disrupt the stability in referee assignment, and are not influenced by the wishes of any party.

This will be a big challenge for Indonesia. They will have to compete in Saudi Arabia, under the control of West Asian referees in the match against the host.

Notably, in the recent 2026 World Cup third qualifying round match, AFC assigned Omani referee Ahmed Akaf to officiate the match between Indonesia and Bahrain. The match ended in controversy when referee Ahmed Akaf added more than 10 minutes of injury time (while the scoreboard only announced 6 minutes). This created conditions for Bahrain to equalize 2-2 in the final minutes of injury time.

Indonesia is about to enter the 4th qualifying round of the World Cup (Photo: Getty).

Afterwards, Indonesian fans vented their anger on the Omani referee. PSSI also filed a complaint to AFC and FIFA regarding the controversial decision of referee Ahmed Akaf.

In the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, 6 teams are divided into two groups of 3 teams each. Only the group winners will qualify for the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada. The runners-up will meet in the 5th qualifying round, to compete for a ticket to the Intercontinental Play-off.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/indonesia-gui-don-kien-vi-bat-cong-afc-len-tieng-phan-xu-20250918192151369.htm