'If you want, send it to FIFA'

Accordingly, 2 days after the match between Indonesia and Bahrain in the 3rd World Cup qualifiers ended (October 10), PSSI filed a complaint to AFC. PSSI said that the referee of the match was biased towards the home team Bahrain, causing the Indonesian team to tie 2-2 in the last minutes of injury time. At the same time, PSSI also hoped that AFC would consider the VAR issue because they had no contact with the referee team.

"We have sent a letter of complaint to FIFA and AFC. The Indonesian team is very disappointed with the referee's decision. He intentionally gave Bahrain more time to equalize," said Arya Sinulingga, a senior member of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI).

Mr. Ahmed Al Kaf (ball holder) was sued by the Indonesian team.

“Based on what happened in the match against Bahrain, PSSI must sue the referee,” said Sumardji, head of the Indonesian team. “I think it will be a big problem if the referee is unfair, the Indonesian people are angry. More than 280 million Indonesians do not want to be fooled again.”

At the same time, Mr. Sumardji said that he met the match supervisor directly to express his disappointment: “When the match ended, I went to the match supervisor and shook his hand. I reiterated that Indonesia did not ask for anything unreasonable. We only asked the referee to officiate the match fairly. I hope the match supervisor can convey this to the Omani referee.”

However, according to CNN Indonesia , an AFC spokesperson said that the PSSI's complaint was officially rejected because it lacked sufficient grounds. The evidence that the Indonesian team provided later was also vague and not specific. The result of the match between Indonesia and Bahrain remained the same. At the same time, the referee team that controlled the match was determined to have completed its task well.

“I have received a response to the complaint that PSSI sent to the AFC. AFC officials stated that the reactions of the Indonesian team were unacceptable. Therefore, the complaint has been officially rejected,” Mr. Sumardji revealed.

“For more details, AFC asked PSSI to continue to file a complaint with FIFA if they want. When I heard this, I was really disappointed. Actually, if PSSI filed a complaint with FIFA, the answer would definitely be to go to AFC to resolve it. Everything is like a cycle and the Indonesian team is too familiar with this. The result will not change and everything is now almost hopeless,” Mr. Sumardji added.

AFC will not resolve Indonesia team's complaint against referee Ahmed Al Kaf

Immediately after the AFC’s decision was made, the Oman Football Association (OFA) directly spoke out, criticizing the “attack” on referee Ahmed Al Kaf on social media. Since the match between Indonesia and Bahrain ended, Mr. Ahmed Al Kaf has received a lot of anger, causing this referee to be seriously affected mentally.

OFA said in a statement: “The Oman Football Association strongly condemns the unjustified attacks and threats directed at referee Ahmed Al Kaf and his assistants following the match between Bahrain and Indonesia. We call on FIFA and the AFC to fulfil their responsibilities to protect and ensure the safety of the referees and are working with other relevant bodies to achieve the same.”

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/afc-chinh-thuc-bac-bo-don-kien-cua-doi-indonesia-neu-muon-hay-gui-tiep-den-fifa-185241016164129835.htm