Referee Jumpei Iida. — Photo AFC

HÀ NỘI — A team of officials from Japan will referee the upcoming clash between Việt Nam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their World Cup 2020 qualifier at Hà Nội’s Mỹ Đình Stadium on November 14, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced.

Jumpei Iida will be the match referee.

Iida is a familiar face to many Vietnamese football fans having previously taken charge of Việt Nam’s 1-0 victory against Thailand in the King’s Cup in June this year.

In addition, the Japanese referee also took charge of Hà Nội FC’s fixture against Thanh Hóa in the V.League 1 in 2017.

Having first qualified as a FIFA referee in 2011, Iida has gained plenty of experience at Asian tournaments, including the AFC Champions League, the Asian Cup, and several World Cup 2018 qualifiers in the Asian region.

The AFC also announced that, following the UAE tie, a team of referees from Oman has been appointed to officiate Viet Nam’s clash with Thailand. The crunch match will take place at Mỹ Đình on November 19 with Ahmed Al-Kaf serving as match referee.

Referee Ahmed Al-Kaf (centre). — Photo AFC

Al-Kaf took charge of two games involving the Vietnamese team at the AFC U23 Championship 2018 finals, including the game against Syria in the group stages and Uzbekistan in the finals.

At the Asian Cup 2019 finals, Al-Kaf was referee as Việt Nam beat Yemen 2-0. — VNS