UAE v Japan: Vahid Halilhodzic keen to ‘avoid bad refereeing’ that denied his side a goal in Saitama

A file photo of Japan manager Vahid Halilhodzic in Chiba on June 1, 2015. Toshifumi Kitamura / AFP

AL AIN // Japan manager Vahid Halilhodzic says there must be no repeat of the poor officiating he believes contributed to the UAE winning the most recent meeting between the two sides.

Mahdi Ali’s men began the final qualification stage for the 2018 World Cup last September with a shock 2-1 victory at Japan’s Saitama Stadium, getting their Group B campaign off to a perfect start.

However, Japan felt they were victims that night of some sub-standard refereeing, especially when they were denied what should have been an equaliser in the 77th minute.

With the score at 2-1, substitute Asano Takuma’s effort had clearly crossed the line before UAE goalkeeper Khalid Essa clawed the ball away, yet none of the officials deemed it to be a goal.

Japan will aim now to banish those memories in the return fixture at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

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The four-time Asian champions are second in the group, level on points with leaders Saudi Arabia. The UAE sit fourth, one point back.

Asked how to avoid another surprise result against the Emirates, Halilhodzic said: “I will want to avoid bad refereeing. Is that understood?

“I don’t like to speak so much about referees, but I will want to trust this referee. We are concentrating to play this great UAE team, who have high qualities. I hope we will have the correct refereeing that this World Cup qualifier deserves.”

Japan will be missing captain Makoto Hasebe for the match, since the experienced midfielder is ruled out with a knee injury. Halilhodzic described his absence as a “big problem”, but the Bosnian remains convinced his team can cope.

“All his colleagues will do everything possible to cover his absence and go forward,” Halilhodzic said. “We need determination, ambition and hope to do that.

“This is a very important game for both teams, a very difficult game for Japan and the UAE. We came here to win, which is not an easy task. But we are prepared to do this.”

The referee for the match is Uzbekistan’s Ravshan Irmatov.

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