OFFICIAL: AFC reject Thailand’s petition

In the quarterfinals of AFC U23 Championship 2020 finals, U23 Thailand lost to U23 Saudi Arabia because of a controversial penalty situation. Thailand didn’t comply with the decision of the Oman referee - Ahmed Al-Kaf, the Thai Football Federation sent a complaint to AFC regarding the way game was run.

Recently, the Asian Football Federation (AFC) has officially sent feedback on the complaint of the Thai Football Federation. Accordingly, AFC affirmed that the decisions of referee Ahmed Al-Kaf are completely correct, including the penalty situation in the 73rd minute of the match.

AFC announced: "If the defender pulls the attacking shirt outside the box and continues when the player enters the penalty area, the referees are entitled to give the penalty. After receiving the advice of the VAR, Ahmed Al-Ka made the correct decision when giving U23 Saudi Arabia the penalty. "

In addition, AFC also confirmed that there was no bias in arranging the referee team in that match. The AFC arbitration committee selects the best arbitrator for the match under consideration of their ability and experience.

Thus, AFC has officially rejected the complaint of the Thai Football Federation about arbitration in the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Championship 2020. Despite the defeat, this can be considered a successful tournament with U23 Thailand, when they have reached the quarter-finals for the first time. Above all, Akira Nishino also regained the trust of the fans after disappointing perofrmance at the 30 SEA Games.

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