PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) admit that there were several incorrect decisions made by the match referees during the Super League match between Negri Sembilan and Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) last Friday.
In a statement yesterday, FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman said the Performance Evaluation Committee had reviewed the referee evaluation report and analysed key incidents that occurred throughout the match at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium.
“The evaluation found that there were several inaccurate decisions made by the match referee, S. Logeswaran, and the VAR referee, Mohd Usaid Jamal, particularly in relation to the enforcement of Law 12 of the Laws of the Game – Fouls and misconduct.
“As a result, FAM decided to refer both referees to a two-week recovery and refinement phase to improve their performance,” said Azman.
During the match, Logeswaran extended the match to go beyond the seven minutes of added time that was stated initially, which gave JDT’s Manuel Hidalgo the opportunity to score a late winner.
Another incident that sparked questions came right before half-time when JDT centreback Eddy Israfilov raised his elbow on Negri’s Joseph Esso right outside the penalty area, which seemed to have denied him a clear run at a scoring opportunity.
In the second half, Israfilov again raised controversy after he seemed to have purposely body-checked Negri’s Jovan Motika, but there was no whistle from the referee.
Meanwhile, FAM’s Referee Unit and Performance Evaluation Committee have sent official letters to all match officials to attend a post-match debriefing session tomorrow at Wisma FAM, which aims to guide them to overcome any shortcomings.
“FAM will never compromise on matters related to the quality of officiating and will summon any match official who demonstrates poor performance for guidance and rehabilitation,” said Azman.
