2025/2026 Malaysia Cup Final To Get Touch of Foreign Referees

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Football League (MFL) will engage the services of foreign referees for the 2025/2026 Malaysia Cup final between Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) and Kuching City FC at Bukit Jalil National Stadium here, next Saturday.

MFL president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said his party has submitted an official application to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to obtain the best line-up of referees to officiate the prestigious 99th edition match.

He said it involves four foreign referees including two assistant referees and a video assistant referee (VAR).

"The decision to use the expertise of foreign referees was made as a step to ensure the quality of refereeing is at the best level besides guaranteeing the integrity and smoothness of the final match which is the focus of domestic football fans.

"The climax of the Malaysia Cup final is undoubtedly a high-profile match. With international refereeing standards, I believe it can improve the competition experience for players, team officials and supporters,” he said in a statement today.

Ab Ghani said the presence of foreign referees could also open up space for the exchange of expertise for local referees in an effort to improve the quality of national refereeing.

“In fact, with the presence of these foreign referees, local referees can pick up some tips and experience to help develop local refereeing standards,” he said.

According to him, the decision was also made when the proposal to use foreign referees was raised in the MFL Discussion with League Partners on April 29.

He said that the MFL is always open to suggestions from league partners to improve all aspects of competition management, but the use of foreign referees requires careful consideration because it involves high costs.

-- BERNAMA