Indonesian team makes demands to AFC when playing the final qualifying round of World Cup 2026

The refereeing issue has been a hot topic since the third qualifying round, especially in the match between Bahrain and Indonesia. At that time, a controversial decision took place at the end of the match. The referee announced 6 minutes of extra time, but in the 9th minute of extra time, the main referee Ahmed Akaf still let the match continue and the result was Bahrain scored an equalizer, making Indonesia lose the victory.

The Indonesian side claimed that referee Ahmed Akaf, who is Arab, had made a biased decision in favor of the neighboring team. They asked the AFC to stop allowing Arab referees to officiate Indonesia's matches in the World Cup qualifiers. Only when entering the final stage did the Southeast Asian representative's request be met. Accordingly, in the two matches between Indonesia and Iraq and Saudi Arabia in October, the AFC will arrange neutral referees.

Arab referees will not officiate Indonesia match

In addition, the AFC also agreed to reschedule the match in a more favorable way for the Southeast Asian team. The start time of the Indonesia vs Iraq match was adjusted, from 8:15 p.m. on October 10 to 10:30 p.m. on October 11 (local time).

The reason is that Indonesia had previously played against Saudi Arabia while Iraq had a day off. By postponing the match by one day, they will have more time to recharge.

The 2026 World Cup qualifiers will feature 6 teams, divided into 2 groups playing a round robin format. The top 2 teams in each group will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the second-placed teams will advance to the play-offs to determine Asia's representatives for the Intercontinental Qualifiers.