The Association of Southeast Asian Football (AFF) has announced the referee team to be on duty in the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final between Vietnam and Thailand, taking place at 8 pm on August 26 at My Dinh Stadium (Hanoi).
Accordingly, referee Ahmed Eisa Mohamed Darwish from the UAE will be the referee. Two fellow assistants include Saeed Rashed Mohamed Abdulla Almarzooqi and Yaser Sabeil Ahmed Mohamed Almurshidi.
The fourth referee is Muhammad Taqi Aljaafari Bin Jahari (Singapore), while Mr. Subkhiddin bin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia) takes on the role of referee supervisor.
Ahmed Eisa Mohamed Darwish, 35 years old, became FIFA referee in 2017. He is known for his strict management style, often using yellow cards in matches.
According to statistics, the UAE referee has officiated 112 matches, shown 512 yellow cards, 61 red cards and awarded 54 penalty kicks. These figures show that the second leg final may be tightly controlled, especially in the context that Vietnam and Thailand have many fierce confrontations.
Ahmed Eisa Mohamed Darwish also served in tournaments with the participation of Vietnamese football. At the 2024 AFC U23 Championship Finals, he took on the role of VAR referee in the match U23 Vietnam won U23 Malaysia 2-0 in the group stage and lost U23 Iraq 0-1 in the quarter-finals.
The selection of the UAE referee is considered a noteworthy factor before the decisive match for the ASEAN Cup 2026 championship. The Vietnamese team is in a big advantage after winning 2-0 against Thailand in the first leg at Rajamangala Stadium.
Coach Kim Sang-sik's team will return to Hanoi to prepare for the second leg. With a two-goal difference, the Vietnamese team only needs to maintain the advantage to aim for the championship, while Thailand must win with a score difference of two goals or more if they want to reverse the situation.
