Four Asian Cup referees suspended

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.