Indonesia demands change in referee assignment at World Cup qualifiers after controversial Bahrain draw

The demand comes after Indonesia's 2-2 draw with hosts Bahrain on Oct. 10 in group C of the third qualifying round. The match, officiated by Omani referee Ahmed Al Kaf, crossed the six minutes of official added time and continued until the ninth minute, during which Bahrain's Mohamed Marhoon scored the equalizer and stopped the host from getting a win.

Indonesia expressed strong objections to Al Kaf, as his country Oman is in the West Asian region with Bahrain.

PSSI general secretary Yunus Nusi highlighted the need for neutral-zone referees to prevent potential bias.

"It can create bias," Nusi said on broadcaster VOI. "We want referees to adhere to the rules."

Nusi also praised UAE referee Omar Al-Ali, who officiated Indonesia's 1-2 loss to China, for his performance despite the result.

AFC regulations allow referees from different countries within the same region to officiate matches. In the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, six other games featured similar referee assignments. For instance, UAE referee Omar Al-Ali officiated Bahrain's 1-0 victory over Australia, and Jordanian referee Adham Makhadmeh oversaw Saudi Arabia's 1-1 draw with Indonesia, while their 0-2 loss to Japan was officiated by South Korean referee Kim Jong-hyeok.

In group A, Adham Makhadmeh officiated the 1-1 draw between UAE and North Korea, while group B had Chinese referee Ma Ning in Oman’s 1-3 loss to South Korea and Japanese referee Hiroyuki Kimura in Jordan's 0-2 loss to South Korea.

Meanwhile, Bahrain accused Indonesian fans of cyberattacks on the Bahrain Football Association’s website, emails and social media accounts following the controversial draw, including death threats directed at team members. They have urged the AFC and FIFA to move their away match against Indonesia in March 2025 to a neutral venue, though this request is unlikely to be fulfilled.

PSSI has pledged to act as a responsible host, while AFC general secretary Datuk Windsor John emphasized the importance of Indonesia and their fans being "good hosts" to prevent any incidents that could negatively impact both teams.

"We must prove that Bahrain's concerns will not happen," Nusi added.

Nusi acknowledged that the actions of some Indonesian netizens had gone too far but considered these expressions as passionate support for their national team and hoped the AFC and FIFA would understand.

Indonesia are currently fifth in group C with three points, ahead of last-placed China on goal difference (-1 vs -9). The team are set to host Japan on Nov. 15 and Saudi Arabia on Nov. 19. Their target is to secure a fourth-place finish in the group to advance to the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.