FAM suspends referee of Sabah-Penang match for mistakenly awarding two penalties

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — The controversial referee of the Super League match involving Sabah FC and Penang FC final Friday, has been suspended with instant impact from refereeing any Malaysia League 2023 matches.

Soccer Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-common Noor Azman Rahman said that referee Zulkarnain Zakaria had erred in interpreting the two circumstances of awarding a penalty kick to Sabah in the 41st minute and further time (90+9).

“The FAM Referees Committee will take this issue severely and will give reminders and stern warnings to all referees to normally be optimal in carrying out their responsibilities with a additional holistic comprehending of soccer.

“The committee will also not be reluctant to get stern and correct motion towards any referee who shows high-quality of judgement that does not satisfy the benchmarks that have been set in upcoming matches,” he claimed in a statement.

Noor Azman mentioned the determination was built by the FAM Referee Overall performance Evaluation Committee led by FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram as chairman of the FAM Referees Committee.

The committee fulfilled yesterday to examine the report from the Referee Assessor of the match as well as video clips of every incident.

Sabah defeated Penang 5-2 in match at the Likas Stadium, Kota Kinabalu.

Zulkarnain became the concentration when he awarded four penalty kicks in the match, 3 to the hosts and a single to Penang. — Bernama