PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have not only suspended referees Razlan Joffri Ali and Ahmad Zuhadi Dzulkifli but they will be given counselling too.
Razlan and Video Assisted Review referee Zuhaidi have been taken off duty from officiating two games in the professional and amateur leagues following controversial decisions made during the Super League match between Perak and Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri on Nov 10.
They were questioned for not awarding a penalty for Perak in the 38th minute and for letting JDT winger Arif Aiman Hanapi and Perak wingback Tommy Mawat Bada escape with just a yellow card after both were involved in a fight on the pitch in the 84th minute.
The national body want the refs to return to the game more equipped after attending the counselling and education sessions.
FAM deputy president, Datuk S. Sivasundaram said the Referee Performance Evaluation Committee found that the refs had failed to make accurate calls on both incidents.
“Punishment based on the principle of education is the best way to ensure the smooth running of our league. This kind of policy is not something new it is used at the level of FIFA, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and most of the famous leagues in the world.”
Sivasundaram said FAM held the quality of officiating matches in high regards and would not compromise in the matter.
He said FAM’s referee unit has assessed the performance of referees in 110 games in all domestic competitions that had used VAR technology.
“The finding showed that there were only two Super League matches where the decisions made were less accurate, which included the match between Perak and JDT.
“The total number of complaints received is four, which is 3.63% of the 110 matches that had been played. Out of the four complaints, only one complaint showed that the referee’s decision was not accurate.
“This means, the use of VAR and the performance of referees for 108 matches is very good.”
Meanwhile, in a related development, FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman said that the charge sheet involving the fight between Arif Aiman and Tommy Mawat had already been sent by the FAM general secretariat to their respective clubs, JDT and Perak on Nov 13.
