Football West hosts top AFC instructor as part of Arabian Engagement Strategy

High-ranking FIFA and AFC referee assessor and instructor Hakan Anaz has been in Perth to work with local match officials.

Anaz, who is based at the Saudi Arabia Football Federation, was invited to WA as part of Football West’s Arabian Engagement Strategy.

During his week-long visit, Anaz ran workshops and on-field practical sessions at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.

“It is a fantastic initiative which allows us to share knowledge and the feedback I got was very positive,” he said.

“I made the point to the referees to have the same mentality as the world-class players they are officiating. Someone like David Beckham would practise something over and over again, so when it came to the game, it was second nature. Same with referees. If you do practical exercises 10 times during the week, the 11th time will be in the game and you’ll know exactly what to do.”

Before becoming an instructor, Anaz, who is originally from Melbourne, was an assistant referee for over a decade and represented Australia at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

He is now responsible for the education, analysis and appointments of referees and VAR observers for the Saudi first division, which is one tier below the Roshn League (Saudi Pro League).

“My role is to develop all these young referees coming up and get them up to the Roshn League,” he said.

“We need referees to understand football. I've seen many referees who can quote to you the paragraph, the dot point, the number, the Law of the Game. But they don’t understand refereeing, they don’t understand football, and that’s the biggest problem we have. We need to have referees who understand football.”

The huge financial investment in Saudi football is well documented, attracting superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane. Anaz says serious money has also been put into refereeing in the country, with positive results.

“The investment has been phenomenal, and that is vital. You can have fantastic players and fantastic facilities, but if the referees are having problems, then it drags down the whole competition,” he said.

“We went from no candidates at the last World Cup to the 2026 World Cup, where we have two candidates. It’s about trust. We can’t have Saudi referees being the same as overseas referees. We need them to be better. Same in Australia. You’ve got Perth referees, and refs from Melbourne and Sydney. Well, for your Perth referees to make it into the A-League or at international level, they have to show they are better than those other guys.”

Yet regardless of where any referee is from, Anaz admits there is one recurring issue they all face.

“The referee's job is not getting easier, and we have a lot of abuse of referees the world over,” he said.

“We are the only ones who are expected to be perfect before the game and then get better!”

• Football West launched its Arabian Engagement Strategy in July 2024 in partnership with the Council for Australian-Arab Relations and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Arabian Engagement Strategy ties in with a wider Federal Government initiative to strengthen ties with Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia through a shared love of football.