AFC shocked by assigning Omani referee to Vietnam - Yemen match

Ahmed Al-Kaf in the U23 Asian Cup final between Vietnam and Uzbekistan in early 2018. Photo:AFC.

Ahmed Al-Kaf has a good relationship with Vietnamese football. At the U23 Asian Cup in January 2018, he refereed the final match between Vietnam and Uzbekistan, and before that, the match between Vietnam and Syria in the group stage (0-0 draw). Ahmed Al-Kaf has won a lot of sympathy thanks to his accurate decisions in the above matches.

However, his appointment tonight has raised concerns. His home country, Oman, is also competing for one of the four spots in the next round as the third-placed team with the best record. "It's hard to understand. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) doesn't have a shortage of referees, does it?", said@Aaron Camelliecomment onTwitter. Meanwhile@BeWWWComment: "Ahmed Al-Kaf will be under pressure, both in the matches he referees and in his home country Oman".

According to the assignment principle, the referee cannot be from either of the two competing countries, or from a country with a team directly competing with the two competing teams.

Oman is currently third in Group F, with 0 points and a goal difference of -2. In the final match tomorrow, Oman will face Turkmenistan, an opponent considered weaker. If they win this match, they will definitely qualify for the next round. Similarly, the winner of the Vietnam - Yemen match is also likely to advance. However, if the match ends in a draw, the two teams will go home together.

Group of third-placed teams. The four blue spots advance to the round of 16.

The referee, born in 1983, was granted a FIFA license in 2010. He has officiated many major continental football matches at the Asian Cup and AFC Champions League. At this year's tournament, Ahmed Al-Kaf has only officiated one match in the group stage, between Australia and Jordan in the opening match of Group B.