KUALA LUMPUR — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) aims to produce more international standard referees after three Malaysian referees were appointed to officiate in the Asian Cup next year.
As per the list released by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) today, Nazmi Nasaruddin, Zairul Khalil Tan, and Arif Shamil Abdul Rashid will be in Qatar to officiate the matches.
Nazmi has been selected as the primary referee, and he is no stranger to the international refereeing scene, frequently chosen by the AFC to officiate matches in the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup throughout the years.
The 33-year-old Nazmi also stands as one of the most seasoned referees at the domestic level, having officiated numerous finals in the Malaysia Cup and the Malaysia FA Cup.
Meanwhile, Zairul and Arif Shamil have been designated as assistant referees.
Speaking to Scoop, deputy FAM president Datuk S. Sivasundaram, who also serves as the chairman of the Referees’ Committee, said that he was proud of the referees and commended their dedication to the sport.
“I am delighted with the referees selected to represent Malaysia in such a prestigious tournament.
“They were selected by the AFC based on their excellent track record, which speaks for itself.
“Additionally, I admire their passion for the game, and all of them maintained a stern personality and a strict approach to the sport.
“At FAM, we hope to witness the development of more local referees, and we are committed to producing more referees who can compete on the Asian and international stages,” said Sivasundaram.
At the same time, two more officials from Malaysia have been appointed to work at the Asian Cup next year as former Fifa referee Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh, who officiated at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and FAM’s Referee and Professional Referee Development manager C. Ravichandran, have been selected as technical experts.
For the first time in history, all matches in the Asian Cup finals will utilise the video assistant referee (VAR) system, following its introduction at the quarterfinals stage in the 2019 Asian Cup.
The 2023 AFC Asian Cup is scheduled to be held in Qatar in January. — September 15, 2023