Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo admitted on Friday that he was annoyed by the referee in the Indonesia-Bahrain World Cup qualifier who kept the match to proceed beyond the official added time and allowed the home team to equalize in the last minute.

Indonesia was leading 2-1 in Bahrain until the 96th minute, which supposed to be the time the final whistle was blown, but the game went on and four minutes later Bahrain’s Mohamed Marhoon scored and the game was over.

Indonesian officials and players stormed Omani referee Abu Bakar Al Kaf to protest his handling of the match, resulting in one official getting a red card.

"If I’m allowed to speak, I’m very disappointed. We were leading 2-1 and there was an added six minutes but nine minutes after the normal time there was no final whistle. Then came that goal in the last minute,” Jokowi said in Nusantara, East Kalimantan.

National team coach Shin Tae-yong also criticized the referee for allowing Bahrain to score beyond the added time. 

“If the AFC [Asian Football Confederation] wants to keep progressing, the quality of referees’ decision and leadership must be improved,” the Korean was quoted as saying in the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) website.

The result from the Thursday evening match leaves Indonesia fifth in the standings, just behind Bahrain, with three points from three draws.

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