Sri Lankan professional football referee, Chrishantha Dilan Perera, dashed Oman’s hopes in the crucial match against Qatar due to his unfair decisions taken during the match late on Monday at Jassim bin Hamed Stadium.
Qatar beat Oman 1-0 with the only goal netted by Hasan al Haydous in the 39th minute through a controversial penalty.
The triumph confirmed Group E toppers Qatar, the hosts of the 2022 Fifa World Cup, a place in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in China with 22 points.
Despite the defeat, Red Warrior’s chances to book a spot as among five best second-placed teams are still alive if they win against Afghanistan on Friday. The last match result against Bangladesh on June 15 is not calculated due to the withdrawal of Korean Republic from the qualification.
IMPROPER DECISIONS
Oman’s former national professional football referee, Abdullah al Hilali, said that selecting the right and strong umpiring team for any significant fixtures should be a top priority, according to some strong criteria. “There should be full revision for the criteria of nominating the right umpiring team to officiate a crucial match. Many decisions made by the Sri Lankan referee can be classified as ‘umpiring blunders’ and such mistakes are not accepted even for a referee who is beginning his career,” Al Hilali said in exclusive remarks to the Observer.
Commenting on the major refereeing mistakes, Al Hilali said: “The first incorrect decision from the referee was the penalty for Qatar in the 39th minute. Oman defender’s leg was directed to the ball and not to the player. The referee location was not in the proper side which would allow him for the right decision.”
“Next, a valid penalty for Oman was not given by the referee Perera after Mohsin al Ghassani was brought down by Qatar’s goalkeeper Saad al Sheeb. The goalkeeper used force on Al Ghassani and blocked him. The third major case is the cancellation of a correct goal scored by Khalid al Hajri in the dying minutes over offside. The player was not in offside position,” the former referee said.
The experienced Omani referee pointed out that he knew the Sri Lankan for a very long time. “I did not remember the Sri Lankan referee nominated for any top clashes. The AFC should stop him from officiating in the rest of the qualifier matches,” he pointed out.
Al Hilali added that using the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is a must. “I was surprised on absence of VAR implementation during this round of qualifier and in this important match. VAR is applied in Qatar’s league and was implemented also in many major Asian events.”
OFA makes official complaint
Meanwhile, the Oman Football Association (OFA) raised an official complaint to the AFC over the poor refereeing and improper decisions made by the Sri Lankan referee Chrishantha Dilan Perera. OFA requested AFC to terminate the referee from international badge holders, assigning right and competency for umpiring team for the top clashes and restructuring on the committees and panels who are responsible for naming the umpiring list of the matches.
TOP PERFORMANCE
Oman head coach Branko Ivankovic congratulated the Qatari team for the victory. “They are the best team in Asia in the last few years. Oman national team players delivered top show. We have scored a correct goal and we should have got two penalties but all of that are not accepted by the referee and I do not know what is the reasons behind that,” he said.
The Croatian coach voiced confidence that the team will qualify to the next round and will register the desired results in the upcoming matches.