In the upcoming Qatar World Cup Asian Qualifying Round 40 Group A matches to be staged in Suzhou from May 30 to June 15, China's team will be in the beginning of this exciting battle. The AFC recently announced the refereeing lineup for the group, which includes six referees and fourth officials, as well as eight assistant referees.
Kim Hee Gon
The 40 strong match will not use VAR technology to assist referee decision-making, which means that the game will mainly rely on the referee's professional level and subjective judgment. It is worth paying attention to, in the six international referees to referee in China, South Korea's Kim Hee-kun, Singapore's Taki, Thailand's Sivakorn and so on have many times refereeing the Chinese team or the Chinese Super League team's game experience, their familiarity with the Chinese Super League game so that the Chinese team's players can be in advance of the understanding of their style of law enforcement. In front of these referees, national players should respect the referees more and avoid being passive due to refereeing problems.
As the second half of the Group A tournament approaches, preparations are in full swing. As the tournament adopts a closed and centralized system, the AFC has also synchronized the information on the assignment of referees to ensure their smooth arrival at the tournament area in accordance with the epidemic prevention requirements.
According to China's and AFC's anti-epidemic regulations, all members involved in the tournament, including the referees, are required to move in a strict anti-epidemic closed loop from the time they enter the country to the time they leave. As the referees come from different member associations, they cannot arrive at the tournament area at the same time, but they are required to enter the country from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, as are all visiting teams in Group A.
The issue of refereeing in soccer matches has always attracted a lot of attention because it has a bearing on the interests of the participating parties. The referees who will officiate the matches in Group A, where the Chinese team is located, have naturally aroused a great deal of concern among the Chinese people and fans.
It is worth mentioning that VAR technology will not be introduced to this year's Top 40, so the referees' decisions will directly affect the results of the matches. A total of 14 referees are involved in Group A enforcement, including six referees with the qualifications of referee and 4th official, and eight assistant referees, according to Beiqing-Beijing Headline.
The six referees were Ahmad Faisal Muhammad Ali from Jordan; Kim Hee-Kun from South Korea; Khalid Alturais from Saudi Arabia; Ammar Ali Abdullah Jumayah Al Jenebi from the UAE; Taki from Singapore; and Sivakorn Buwudong from Thailand.
Most of the six people mentioned above are familiar faces. For example, South Korea's Kim Hee-kun refereed the Chinese Super League last year as a special guest referee and a number of key matches, including the knockout match between Guoan and Luneng. Taki and Aljenebi have also refereed China in previous World Cup qualifiers.
Thailand's "Golden Whistle" Sivakorn is also an old friend of Chinese soccer. Since he was promoted to international referee in 2013, he has enforced many Chinese Super League matches, including the matches between Tianjin Teda and Zhejiang Greentown, and between Beijing Guoan and Guizhou Renhe.
Muhammad Ali and Alturais have also been involved with Chinese teams, for example Ali was the 2nd additional assistant referee for Guangzhou Evergrande's match against Japan's Kashima Antlers in the 2019 AFC Champions League season, while Alturais was the 4th official for Shandong Luneng's match against Gyeongnam FC in the group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League season.
Although the Chinese team is relatively unfamiliar with the enforcement styles of these two referees, with the help of modern communication technology, the Chinese team is fully able to obtain preparation information through various channels. In previous training sessions, international referees and experts from the CFA have introduced the latest international penalty rules and referee characteristics to the international players.
It is worth mentioning that VAR technology will not be introduced in this tournament, and the Chinese team must respect the referees and international penalty rules and obey the referees. At the same time, the international players already have a certain understanding of the above referees, so they should remain calm and focus on technical and tactical play during the game to avoid disputes due to the referee's decisions.
