JAKARTA, July 29 - Four match officials have been
suspended for poor performances during the Asian Cup, the Asian
Football Confederation (AFC) announced on Sunday.
The AFC banned one referee for a month and suspended
another referee and two assistants until further assessment,
following a meeting of the referees appointment sub-committee.
Lebanese referee Najm Talaat was suspended for one month
for his handling of the Group B match between Vietnam and
United Arab Emirates.
Iranian referee Masoud Moradi and his assistant Sokhandan
Reza, also of Iran, were suspended until further notice for
their performances in Qatar v United Arab Emirates match.
Singaporean linesman Yew Mun Tang was also suspended
pending further assessment after the Saudi Arabia and
Uzbekistan quarter-final.
The Asian Cup has been marred by several controversial
refereeing decision but AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam told a
news conference he was pleased with the overall standard.
"In every competition there are human errors but in general
with the refereeing in this tournament I am absolutely
satisfied," he said.