Four match officials have been suspended for poor performances during the Asian Cup, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced today.
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.
