A series of proposals were approved by the recently appointed Asian Football Confederation Referees Committee. Having underlined how Asian referees continue to shine on the global stage, Committee Chairman Zhang Jilong (China) welcomed Deputy Chairman Hany Ballan Safar (Qatar) as well as members Abdulrahman Al Delawar (Bahrain), Cheung Yim Yau (Hong Kong), Goutam Kar (India), Toru Kamikawa (Japan), Kim Joo Sung (Korea Republic), Saad Al Fadhi (Kuwait), Ali Al Traifi (Saudi Arabia), Ali Hamed Al Badwawi (United Arab Emirates), Farkhad Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) and advisor Gen. Farouk Bouzo (Syria) to AFC House in the Malaysian capital.
The Committee went on to recommend that the current age limit (45 on January 1) for Referees and Assistant Referees, Futsal Referees (both Men and Women) and the AFC Referring Panel for Beach Soccer be repealed. The age limit (60 on January 1) for Referee Instructors/Assessors, Futsal Referee Instructors and Beach Soccer Referee Instructors was also repealed.
New recruiting systems for AFC Assistant Referees (Men and Women), Futsal Referees (Women) and Beach Soccer Referees were also approved in principal, as was the discontinuation of a fitness test for officials who arrive three – or fewer – days before the start of centralised tournaments. The Committee also approved the proposal to alter the method for testing the fitness levels of AFC Referees (Men & Women) by changing from a ‘High Intensity Test’ to a ‘Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1’. From December 2015, AFC Futsal Referee (Men & Women) will also see their ‘1000 Metre Running Test’ changed to the Modified Yo-Yo Intermittent Endurance Test Level 2.
The recommendations will be presented to the AFC’s Executive Committee at its next meeting on November 27 in New Delhi, India.
Source: AFC
