S’pore ref Jansen Foo comes under fire from Ancelotti, Brazil after 3-2 loss to Japan

SINGAPORE – Singapore will not face Brazil until their international friendly on Nov 17, but a Singaporean has already found himself on the wrong side of the five-time world champions.

Singaporean referee Jansen Foo made headlines around the world after Japan stunned Brazil 3-2 at the National Stadium in front of 38,688 fans on Nov 14.

Brazil were left frustrated by several of Foo’s calls, most notably his decision not to award a foul in the build-up to Japan’s stoppage-time winner.

After the goal, Brazilian players and staff remonstrated with Foo and fourth official Syarqawi Buhari, which led to Foo brandishing a red card to Brazil’s head coach Carlo Ancelotti and captain Raphinha, who had already been substituted.

Security staff then had to intervene, shielding Foo from Ancelotti, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr – who scored Brazil’s two goals – and Arsenal midfielder Bruno Guimaraes in the aftermath.

The Singaporean match officials were then escorted into the tunnel after the match as Brazil fans in the crowd booed them off.

In the post-match conference, Ancelotti – who has won five Champions League crowns and also domestic titles with the top-five leagues in Europe – said: “He (Foo) gave me the red card because he said I was not able to control the bench, and that all the players were on the pitch.”

The 67-year-old Italian then assessed that the man in the middle lacked the necessary authority to manage a tie between two elite sides.

Ancelotti said: “A pity the result because we don’t like to lose the game, but we have to look at what we did well. There are many things.

“Some players who played for the first time, who showed good quality. For 70 minutes, the team was good. The result, obviously, is conditioned by the attitude of the referee, who did not blow the whistle.

“But it’s not his fault; it was a high-level match, and I think he didn’t have the experience to manage this type of match.”

In the dying minutes, Foo had allowed Japan to play on after Brazil midfielder Joao Gomes was tackled by Takumi Minamino, leading to Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s winner.

But the video assistant referee (VAR) also allowed the goal to stand.

Brazil also felt that the build-up to Takefusa Kubo’s opening goal involved a handball infringement by a Japanese player and that they were denied a first-half penalty when Barcelona skipper Raphinha appeared to have been pushed over in the box.

“First of all, I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise for my behaviour and for being sent off,” Raphinha, 29, said in a post-match television interview, according to The Athletic.

“Sometimes it’s hard to keep calm, especially after what I felt were so many refereeing errors during the match. I tried to speak to him several times, and not once did I feel he was open to discussion. I believe that he made many errors throughout the game, and that is unacceptable.

“In my view, their first goal involved a foul where the opponent took the ball off me with his hand. I think it’s a foul, but I can understand why it wasn’t given based on the current law.

“Then there was the penalty in the first half, in my opinion it was a penalty, but he said no. Then, for their third goal, there was a clear foul on Joao Gomes. With the help of VAR, he eventually allowed the goal. It’s very difficult not to talk about the refereeing.”

Foo has been a FIFA-certified referee since 2014. The 43-year-old officiates in the Singapore Premier League, where he has previously won the Referee of the Year award.

He has also officiated in continental competitions such as the Asian Champions League and was also the referee when Brazil drew 1-1 with Nigeria in a friendly at the National Stadium in 2019.

The Straits Times has contacted the Football Association of Singapore and event organisers to seek clarification on their assessment of Foo’s performance and how referees are selected for such matches.

In February, Foo was withdrawn from appointments for two SPL matches after he failed to send off Lion City Sailors midfielder Kyoga Nakamura during a 1-1 draw with BG Tampines Rovers at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

In the 37th minute of the match, Nakamura appeared to hit Tampines’ Japanese fullback Takeshi Yoshimoto in the face with his elbow while jumping to challenge for a high ball. Referee Foo brandished only a yellow card, while Yoshimoto was unable to continue and had to be replaced.

FAS said in a statement then that its refereeing technical panel “unanimously determined that the on-field decision was incorrect”.

Foo later returned to action after a successful completion of remedial training and performance assessment requirements.

Japan’s win over Brazil was the second of four Mizuho Blue Challenge international friendlies.

Paraguay kicked off the quadrangular series with a 4-1 win over hosts Singapore on Nov 13.

On Nov 17, 149th-ranked host Singapore take on world No. 6 Brazil and world No. 33 Paraguay face 17th-ranked Japan.