KUALA LUMPUR: The FA of Malaysia (FAM) have lodged a complaint against Japanese referee Ryuji Sato to the Asean Football Federation (AFF) over his handling of Malaysia's AFF Cup match against Vietnam in Hanoi on Tuesday. Malaysia lost 3-0.
Though the referee's decision is final, FAM felt that teams can still challenge his credentials if he is biased. Sato's controversial refereeing was much criticised by netizens.
FAM, who strongly believe there has been an injustice to the Malaysian team, submitted an official letter of complaint, with video clips from the match, to AFF secretary general Winston Lee today.
FAM secretary general Noor Azman Rahman said although the decision can't be overturned, it is understood that once an official letter has gone out, Sato's performance will be reviewed and he may not be assigned for Malaysia's games in
future.
"We already saw some (biasness) in the 16th minute but when a Vietnam player got the red card (Nguyen Van Toan in the 32nd minute), we thought we could tie the game or at least compete," said Azman.
"But when it came to the 62nd minute (Azam Azmi Murad's red card) decision, we could see (the biasness). This dismayed many fans nationwide, even the referee (Sato) was trolled. FAM president Datuk Hamidin Amin asked Datuk S. Sivasundaram (FAM referees technical committee chairman) to look into the clips.
"In short, it's (the letter of complaint) saying that we don't want him (Sato to referee Malaysia's games). Once we have submitted the report, it will be understood from there."
This wasn't the first time Sato had "unfairly" judged a match involving Malaysia. He awarded a penalty against Malaysia during a 2022 pre-World Cup qualifier in Dubai. Malaysia and Vietnam were tied at 1-1, and with 10 minutes remaining, Brendan Gan was adjudged to have committed a foul even when there was no body contact with a Vietnam player. Malaysia lost 2-1.
Sato also sparked controversy at the 2017 Under-17 World Cup in Mumbai where Mali lost 3-1 to Spain. Sato later admitted his mistake and apologised to the Mali team.