Indonesia still strongly demands AFC to change Kuwait referee, slim hope of attending World Cup 2026

Head of the Indonesian team, Mr. Sumardji, went to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where a few of the archipelago's players arrived for early training, continuing to demand that the AFC change the Kuwaiti referee before the opening match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Indonesia has only a 7% chance of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has appointed Kuwaiti referee Ahmed Al-Ali and his fellow countrymen to officiate the opening match between Indonesia and host Saudi Arabia (0:15 on October 9) in Group B of the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.

The Indonesian team will be at a great disadvantage in their goal of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, when playing in Saudi Arabia and referees from Kuwait will be in charge.

Photo: Reuters

The AFC's appointment of a Kuwaiti referee from West Asia and the same region as the Saudi Arabian team is clearly not neutral, according to CNN Indonesia. The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) attempted to send a letter of protest to the AFC regarding the selection of referee Ahmed Al-Ali, requesting that the match referee be from a neutral region. However, the PSSI's protest went unanswered.

"Up to now, there has been no information, announcement or anything related to our objection to the appointment of the main referee to officiate the match between the Indonesian team and Saudi Arabia.

We want to change the arbitrator to a truly neutral arbitrator, maybe from Europe or somewhere truly neutral, but the fact is that until now there has been no response to the letter we sent,” a disappointed Mr. Sumardji told Indonesian press before flying to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on October 2.

Meanwhile, the Saudi press is somewhat excited because the AFC has so far maintained its decision to appoint Kuwaiti referee Ahmed Al-Ali. This could cause the Indonesian team's mentality to be unstable before the match which is considered a crucial match for both teams.

"The appointment of referee Ahmed Al-Ali has angered PSSI, as they consider the referee to be Arab and have demanded the appointment of a neutral referee from Europe. However, PSSI's objections have not yet received a response from AFC, so it is likely that no changes will occur," said Saudi Arabian newspaper Asharq Al Awsat .

Indonesia will face Saudi Arabia in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia. In the previous qualifiers, they won 2-0 and drew 1-1.

Photo: Reuters

In addition to the match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, refereed by Kuwaiti referee Ahmed Al-Ali, the next match between the archipelago nation and Iraq at 2:30 a.m. on October 12 (both Vietnam time), will be refereed by Chinese referee Ma Ning and his fellow countrymen.

The Indonesian team currently has about 8 players in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, training to prepare for 2 decisive matches to compete for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. Among them, there are players playing domestically and some in the Southeast Asian region. The rest will have to go straight to Saudi Arabia to gather on October 6.

Indonesia's number 1 striker, Ole Romeny, has just returned from injury and is training quite well, helping coach Kluivert breathe a sigh of relief, in the context that he had to leave out star player Marselino Ferdinan because this player is in the process of recovering from a hamstring injury.

According to data statistics firm Opta, the Indonesian team has the lowest chance of qualifying among the six Asian teams participating in the fourth qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup.

Accordingly, the team from the archipelago is rated to have only a 7% chance based on results, achievements and performance of the players. The team with the highest rate is Saudi Arabia with 62%, followed by Qatar (host in group A) with 48%, Iraq ranked 3rd with 31%, UAE with 29% and Oman with 23% (both teams are in group A with Qatar).

In the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, with 2 groups of 3 teams each, playing a round-robin, only the top team in each group will qualify for the final round in the US, Mexico and Canada next summer. The second-placed teams will still have the opportunity to compete in the play-off round and the intercontinental play-off round. The bottom team will be eliminated.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/indonesia-van-quyet-liet-doi-afc-doi-trong-tai-kuwait-hy-vong-mong-manh-du-world-cup-2026-185251005104318757.htm