The Eyes of the World See! The referee's prize goal for Bahrain occurred in the 90+9 minute, not 90+6

Goal in 90+9 Minutes, Not 90+6

Mata Dunia Melihat! Gol Hadiah Wasit untuk Bahrain Terjadi di Menit 90+9 Bukan 90+6. Foto: PSSI

The controversy in the match between Bahrain and the Indonesian National Team in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers is now in the international spotlight. The Indonesian national team had to be satisfied with a 2-2 draw against Bahrain at the National Stadium, Riffa, on Thursday (10/10/2024). However, it was not this result that attracted world attention, but referee Ahmed Al-Kaf's controversial decision which was considered to have given Bahrain an advantage. 

The match was fierce, with Indonesia taking a 2-1 lead in the 74th minute thanks to Rafael Struick's goal. However, during injury time, tensions increased. Only 6 minutes of extra time was given, but the referee did not immediately blow the final whistle. Until finally, in the 99th minute, Bahrain managed to score an equalizer through Mohamed Marhoon. 

Ironically, even though the goal occurred in the 99th minute, the Bahrain Football Federation's official social media account, @bahrainfa, claimed the goal was scored in the 90+6 minute. This claim raised big question marks and sparked sarcasm from various parties, including the well-known football media, 433. 

Satire 433: "Counting by Back Numbers"

Media 433 also heated up the atmosphere by providing sharp satire through a post inviting its followers to calculate extra time based on the player's jersey number. They used a combination of Romelu Lukaku's jersey numbers (90) + Xavi Hernandez (6) and Ronaldo (99) to make fun of Bahrain's claims. This satire went viral and further strengthened the view that the goal should not be valid because it exceeded the allotted time. 

Malaysian Pandits Join the Spotlight

Not only from international media, football observers from neighboring Malaysia, Keesh Mat Stats, also commented on the controversy. Through his X account, Keesh clearly criticized the referee's decision to extend time beyond the allotted limit. 

“How can you explain the ending of that? Surely Indonesia has the right to feel like it has been robbed, right?” he wrote. Keesh also said that referee Ahmed Al-Kaf appeared to be leaning towards the home side by allowing Bahrain's attack to continue even though extra time should have expired. 

PSSI Ready to Protest to AFC

Not remaining silent, PSSI plans to send an official protest to the AFC regarding the referee's leadership which is considered to be detrimental to the Indonesian National Team. "We have made a protest to the AFC and will wait for their reaction in the next 24 hours, after that we will proceed to FIFA," said Arya Sinulingga, PSSI representative. 

Arya also expressed his disappointment with the referee's decision which seemed to rob Indonesia of their victory. "It really hurts, like being robbed. It's as if the match was allowed to go on until Bahrain could score a goal," he added. 

Even though they are disappointed with this result, the Indonesian National Team must now immediately focus on the next match against China which will take place at the Qingdao Youth Football Stadium on Tuesday (15/10/2024). It is hoped that the Garuda squad will be able to recover and achieve victory in order to maintain their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. 

With the controversy continuing, the world's attention is now focused on how the AFC will respond to PSSI's protests and whether there will be any changes in the refereeing procedures in the following matches.