Indonesian Football Association protests West Asian referees World Cup qualifiers: affecting the fairness of the game

September 18th Indonesian team will play against Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the World Cup. The AFC has arranged for the Kuwait referee to call the Indonesian team, and the Indonesian Football Association has questioned and protested.

Indonesian Football Association Chairman Tohir said that Kuwait referees from West Asia may affect the fairness of the game's call. In this round of World Cup qualifiers, Indonesia is the only team in the non-Middle East region, and the other five teams are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi, Iraq and Indonesia belong to Group B, among which Saudi Arabia is the host. Indonesia will first face Saudi Arabia on October 8 and face Iraq three days later.

Tohir said that the Indonesian Football Association has formally submitted a letter of protest to FIFA and the AFC on the arrangement of Kuwait referee to call the World Cup.

"Our Secretary-General Yunus Nusi had sent an official letter to FIFA yesterday, and I will also send an official letter to the AFC on the current appointment of the referee." Toshir said in an interview with Antara News Agency.

Torhir added that the Indonesian Football Association hopes that FIFA and AFC can assign referees from outside the Middle East to ensure that the principle of fair play is implemented.

"We are trying to lobby. If possible, it would be even better to hope that the referees come from more neutral places, such as Australia, Japan, China, and even Europe. We will wait and see what the outcome will be."