World media slams referee for controversial decisions in Indonesia, Bahrain game

The referee did not blow the final whistle after the designated six-minute added time in the second half, when Indonesia was leading 2-1 in Bahrain National Stadium on Thursday night.

Ahmed Al Kaf also blew the final whistle after nearly 9 minutes of added time, after Mohamed Marhoon scored the 2-2 equalizer for Bahrain in 98 minutes and 40 seconds.

This sparked outrage among Indonesia’s coaching staff and players at full-time. Team manager Sumardji saw red, while defender Shayne Pattynama nearly caused a brawl with Bahrain’s members. The referee team were escorted off the field by security.

The incident later ignited widespread debate on social media and international media outlets.

433’s Instagram page, which has 75 million followers, posted a meme featuring Lukaku’s jersey number 90 at AS Roma and Xavi’s number 6 at Barcelona, but the sum being Ronaldo’s number 99 at AC Milan, with the caption "Quick maths" alongside the Indonesian flag. In just nine hours, the post garnered over 1.3 million likes and around 60,000 comments, mostly from Indonesian users.

A post on Instagram page 433 aims to make fun of the referee's decision to end the Indonesia and Bahrain's game at 2026 World Cup third qualifying round in nearly 99 minutes, while the added time had been designated as six minutes.

Referee Al Kaf was accused of favoring the country of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa. The AFC was also labeled as a "corrupt organization."

Comments flooded the AFC’s Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) social media accounts. The Bahrain Football Association faced similar attacks but quickly disabled comments. Additionally, dozens of fake accounts impersonating referee Ahmed Al Kaf were created to bait angry fans.

Indonesia’s biggest football site, Bola, ran the headline, "Drama as Bahrain Faces Indonesia: Collapsing While Leading, Given Added Time Until Scoring a Goal."

Meanwhile, CNN Indonesia listed three controversial decisions made by the Omani referee, including the extended added time and several calls that favored Bahrain in disputed situations. In the second half, Rafael Struick was fouled near Bahrain’s penalty area, and the ball struck the referee, causing a temporary stoppage. However, Al Kaf did not award Indonesia a free kick, instead allowing Bahrain to retain possession.

An article by Korean outlet Isplus was headlined: "Indonesia robbed of a victory," while ESPN commented: "On paper, a draw away to Bahrain is hardly a poor result, but the manner in which they were denied a maiden victory in the third round of Asian qualifiers will be cause for disappointment, even ire, in the Indonesia camp."

FIFA rules do regulate match duration. Article 7.3 states that the fourth official indicates the minimum additional time decided by the referee at the end of the final minute of each half. The additional time may be increased by the referee but not reduced. The referee must not compensate for a timekeeping error during the first half by changing the length of the second half.

Ahmed Al Kaf, the main referee in Indonesia's 2-2 draw against Bahrain at 2026 World Cup third qualifying round on Oct. 10, 2024. Photo by Reuters

Allowance is made by the referee in each half for all playing time lost in that half through eight factors, namely substitutions, assessment and/or removal of injured players, time-wasting, disciplinary sanctions, medical stoppages like cooling breaks, delays relating to VAR checks and reviews, goal celebrations, and other disruptions to the match.

Fans also questioned why the AFC appointed a referee from Oman, a country also in the West Asia region along with Bahrain, to officiate the match. However, it is not mandatory that referees be from different regions, they only need to come from different countries.

In this same round, South Korean referee Kim Jong-hyeok officiated the match where Saudi Arabia lost 0-2 to Japan in Group C, while Japanese referee Hiroyuki Kimura officiated Jordan's 0-2 loss to South Korea in Group B. In Group A, Jordanian referee Adham Makhadmeh officiated the UAE’s 1-1 draw with North Korea.

The controversial draw cost Indonesia the chance to move up to second place in Group C. Instead, they dropped to fifth, with three points from three draws, trailing Bahrain, Australia, and Saudi Arabia by one point. Japan lead the group with nine points, while China remain winless at the bottom.

Indonesia face China away in the fourth round on Oct. 15.