The six referees, 10 assistant referees and one video assistant referee, who were selected to officiate at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, took part in the two-day seminar which included a series of team building sessions.

Adding to the accumulated technical and fitness experience over the past four years of preparatory stage, this last event aims at accentuating the group’s camaraderie, communication and team management skills.

The referees will be also provided with key messages and advice to ensure top refereeing performances at the FIFA World Cup.

AFC Referees Committee Chairperson Chung Mong Gyu, who opened the ceremony, said: "I would like to offer my congratulations to you all for being selected for the FIFA World Cup.

Qatar's Al Jassim is among the 13 referees selected by the FIFA Referees Committee for Russia 2018. The 13 will act solely as VARs during the FIFA World Cup.

The selection criteria for these VARs were primarily based on their experience as video match officials in their respective association and confederation competitions, in addition to their successful participation in several preparatory seminars and FIFA competitions, where they enhanced their VAR knowledge and skills by using the system.

Each match at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 will have a VAR together with three assistants, AVAR1, AVAR2, AVAR3 (for more information about the different roles and tasks of the VAR team please check fifa.com/VAR).

In addition to these 13 referees who will act solely as video assistant referees, some of the referees and assistant referees who have been selected for the FIFA World Cup will also act as video match officials during Russia 2018. These appointments will be confirmed before each match.

Besides Al Jassim, Asia will also be represented by a record 16 match officials at Russia 2018. 

Asian referees who will officiate at Russia 2018 are Al Mirdasi Fahad (Saudi Arabia), Faghani Alireza (IR Iran), Irmatov Ravshan (Uzbekistan), Mohamed Mohammed Abdulla (UAE), Sato Ryuji (Japan) and Shukralla Nawaf Abdulla (Bahrain).

Assistant referees selected are Abdulla Tulefat Yaser Khalil (Bahrain), Al Abakry Mohammed (Saudi Arabia), Al-Marri Taleb (Qatar), Alhammadi Mohamed (UAE), Alshalwai Abdulah (Saudi Arabia), Mansouri Mohammadreza (IR Iran), Rasulov Abduxamidullo (Uzbekistan), Sagara Toru (Japan), Saidov Jakhongir (Uzbekistan) and Sokhandan Reza (IR Iran).

The appointment is part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the AFC and Concacaf last year, which outlined referees’ development among several key areas for closer collaboration between the two Confederations to ensure the continued growth of the game across both regions.

The reciprocal referee exchange will also see a Concacaf referee trio team officiate in Asia’s premier club competition – the AFC Champions League – during the semi-final stage later this year.

AFC Director of Referees, Shamsul Maidin said: “The AFC is proud and honoured to see one of Asia’s elite officiating in the semi-final of the Concacaf Champions League for the first time. Both the AFC and Concacaf have made tremendous strides in world refereeing and the AFC is committed to exploring more opportunities to ensure our referees are presented with the highest standards of match preparation to excel on the world stage.”

Irmatov, the youngest-ever referee to officiate at the FIFA World Cup opening match and five-time AFC Referee of the Year, will lead the referee team alongside counterparts, assistant referees Jakhongir Saidov and Abdukhamidullo Rasulov.

“The appointment of three-time FIFA World Cup Referee Ravshan Irmatov to our Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League semifinal marks a historic moment for refereeing in Concacaf,” said Concacaf Director of Refereeing Brian Hall. “We are honored to have a referee, with his pedigree, lead our teams onto the field at Azteca Stadium. Mr. Irmatov’s appointment will also pave the way for future exchanges that will help strengthen refereeing in both Confederations.”

Irmatov holds the record for being the youngest referee to officiate in the opening match of a FIFA World Cup when he presided over the match between hosts South Africa and Mexico in 2010. Following South Africa and Brazil 2014, he will make his third consecutive World Cup appearance this summer in Russia 2018.

Irmatov is in prime position to extend his record for the most matches undertaken by any referee in FIFA World Cup history, having officiated on the world’s ultimate stage on nine occasions.

The recognition from FIFA will see Asia surpass its biggest-ever contingent of 14 match officials at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil four years ago, which featured four trio teams and one support duo team who were deployed as fourth and fifth officials.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “On behalf of the Asian football family, I would like to congratulate our match officials on their appointments at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.

“The AFC Vision and Mission underlines our ambitions to be the world’s leading Confederation and to ensure the success of our players, teams and officials. This recognition from FIFA reinforces once again the undeniable progress of Asian refereeing and the Continent’s position as leaders in the global game.

“I wish our match officials the very best in Russia and I am confident that this achievement will serve as an inspiration, not only for tomorrow’s generation of match officials, but for all our teams and players to do Asia proud at the FIFA World Cup.”