Pahang’s Sergio Aguero receiving a red card during the Malaysia Cup final match against JDT at National Stadium, Bukit Jalil. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have given referee Razlan Joffri Ali the thumbs up for his role in officiating the Malaysia Cup final between Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and Pahang despite criticism from fans on Saturday.
Deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram, who is also the FAM referees committee chairman said the conclusion was made after a review.
"The Referee Evaluator's report shows that Razlan's handling of the match demonstrated good performance, which did not affect the final outcome of the match," he said.
"The FAM Referees Unit and the FAM Referees Performance Committee have also conducted a match analysis and found that the second yellow card decision (order to leave the field) given to both teams was accurate according to the FIFA Laws of the Game 2024-2025.
"The penalty decision awarded to the JDT team and the decision to cancel a JDT goal for an offside foul were both accurate," said Sivasundram.
"Each incident in the match was reviewed accurately by the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) referee, and the level of compliance with the VAR protocol was excellent."
Sivasundaram also concluded that every 'key match incident' in the match was adjudicated correctly according to FIFA's laws of the game.
"It is human nature to make mistakes, but these did not significantly affect the final outcome of the match.
"Both teams had equal opportunities to be crowned champions, and it was determined by the teams themselves. FAM are very committed to the quality of referee performance and have never compromised on referee standards."
Fans questioned some of the calls made by Razlan especially the penalty given to JDT and even Pahang coach Fandi Ahmad was disappointed that VAR did not check JDT’s winning goal by Arif Aiman Hanapi, alleging that he was slightly offside.
