
The UAE Football Association has decided to suspend the refereeing team that officiated the Al Ain and Al Jazira match in Round 23 of the ADNOC Pro League. The match, which took place at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium and ended in a 1-1 draw, witnessed refereeing problems that caused significant disapproval from both coaches and the audience.
Al Jazira's coach, Hossain Amouta, criticized the decision to count the equalizing goal, confirming that the goal came from a clear offside position according to video technology usage. On the other hand, Al Ain's coach, Serbian Vladimir Ivić, strongly reacted to the players' delay with the goal, confirming that the goals scored by their team were two valid ones and they deserved the three points.
The goal was canceled by Al Jazira after a review lasting 4 minutes via video technology, where it was shown that Al Jazira player Laba Kodjo was in an offside position according to the referee's judgment. The match concluded with a 1-1 draw after a controversial goal was recorded by Al Ain in the sixth minute, which raised a lot of criticism and objections.
The two coaches accused refereeing mistakes of having a significant impact on the match result. In a statement released on Monday, the Football Association confirmed that its decision was based on the internal regulations for refereeing management. The statement also indicated that the refereeing team that officiated the match made mistakes that affected the course of the game.