Indonesia suffered two consecutive losses in the playoffs and missed out on the World Cup; Indonesian media blame referee Ma Ning's decisions for the setback.

In the early hours of October 12 Beijing time, during the second round of Group B in the fourth stage of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, Indonesia lost 0-1 away to Iraq. After two defeats, they sit at the bottom of the group and have been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.

In the 76th minute of the match, Zidane Iqbal, a product of Manchester United's youth academy, scored the winning goal for Iraq with a low strike. On the Group B standings, Iraq, who had a bye in the first round, temporarily rank second behind Saudi Arabia due to an inferior goal difference.

Notably, the match was officiated by an all-Chinese referee team led by Ma Ning, with Zhou Fei and Zhang Cheng as assistant referees, Jin Jingyuan as the fourth official, and Fu Ming and Du Jianxin serving as video assistant referees. During the game, Ma Ning issued 8 yellow cards and 2 red cards; Iraq’s central defender Tahsin was sent off after receiving a second yellow, while Indonesia received 6 yellow cards. Additionally, Haye was shown a red card after the match for protesting the referee’s decisions.

After the match, Indonesian media outlet BOLA published an article stating that "the Indonesian national team suffered losses due to the decisions made by the Chinese referee." The article highlighted that "referee Ma Ning from China made several controversial calls that significantly disadvantaged the Indonesian team." Indonesia’s captain Izes also commented in a post-match interview, saying, "We try to respect the referees, even though their decisions were unfavorable to us, we still must show them respect."

Indonesian media focused on the controversy surrounding Tahsin’s two yellow card offenses. The first was in the 67th minute when Indonesia launched a counterattack and Romeni was fouled by Tahsin, who received his first yellow card from Ma Ning. Indonesia’s captain Izes argued during discussions that Tahsin had denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity and should have been shown a red card,but Ma Ning pointed out that Romeni’s final touch had already lost the possibility of maintaining control of the ball.

The second incident occurred during injury time when a set piece was delivered into the box, leading to controversy. Ma Ning initially signaled an attacking foul but then reversed the decision, penalizing Tahsin for an elbow strike on Diks with a second yellow card, resulting in his dismissal. Indonesian media questioned why the yellow card offense inside the penalty area did not lead to a potentially crucial penalty kick,but in fact, before this foul, Indonesia’s captain Izes was already offside.

Meanwhile, in the second round of Group A, the UAE came from behind to beat Oman 2-1. With 3 points, the UAE lead the group, while Oman, who drew with Qatar in the first round, sit at the bottom due to an inferior goal difference compared to Qatar.