KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (NNN-Bernama) — The integrity of Malaysian referees continued to gain international recognition when 19 individuals were selected as match officials of world football governing body FIFA this year.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Stuart Ramalingam said in a statement today that they comprised five referees, nine assistant referees (including one woman), three futsal referees and two beach football referees.
The five referees are Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob, who has been a FIFA referee since 2012, Mohd Nazmi Nasaruddin (2016), Suhaizi Shukri (2011), Razlan Joffri Ali (2018) and Tuan Mohd Yaasin Tuan Mohd Hanafiah (2019).
The nine assistant referees are Mohd Yusri Muhamad, Mohd Muazi Zainal Abidin, Mohd Shahreen Che Omar, Mohd Harif Md Akhir, Mohd Arif Shamil Abd Rasid, Mohd Zairul Khalil Tan, Mohd Farhan Abdul Aziz, Muhamad Shafiq Ahmad Said and Nur Akmal Anuar (woman).
The three futsal referees are Helday Idang, Mohd Ridzuan Rozali and Mohd Norafendy Norhayalan while the two beach football referees are Suhaimi Mat Hassan and Wan Mohd Tarmizi Wan Ibrahim.
Stuart said that Mohd Amirul Izwan had also been commissioned to be appointed as Video Match Official (VMO) and Mohd Yusri as an assistant referee for matches involving Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
“Hopefully, all 19 referees selected by FIFA will be able to carry out their duties well and excellently throughout 2021 and make Malaysia proud on the international stage,” said Stuart.
The 35-year-old Mohd Amirul Izwan is a police officer in the General Operations Force and has been selected by the FIFA panel since 2012.
He has officiated matches at several major championships, such as the 2015 Under-17 World Cup in Chile and the Asian Under-19 Championship in Myanmar. He had also served as VAR assistant in the AFC Champions League final last season.
— NNN-BERNAMA