World Cup referee officiates National Cup final match

The 2025/26 National Cup final will be managed by a highly experienced Singaporean referee crew, featuring a World Cup veteran.

The 2025/26 National Cup final between Ninh Bình FC and Công an TP.HCM will take place at 18:00 on June 14th at Ninh Bình Stadium, officiated by an international referee team from Singapore. The organizers' continued invitation of foreign referees demonstrates their commitment to ensuring fairness and high professionalism in the most important match of the season.

According to the latest information, referee Muhammad Taqi Aljaafari Bin Jahari has been assigned as the head referee, while referee Ahmad A'Qashah Bin Ahmad Al Badowe will take charge of the VAR room. Notably, these two referees also recently officiated the V-League 2025/26 play-off match between Bắc Ninh FC and PVF-CAND a few days ago.

Muhammad Taqi is regarded as one of Singapore's top referees. Becoming a FIFA referee in 2012, he has appeared in many major tournaments such as the AFC Asian Cup, FIFA U17 World Cup, and FIFA U20 World Cup. Notably, he was part of the VAR officiating team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar – the most prestigious tournament on earth.

Meanwhile, Ahmad A'Qashah also boasts an impressive professional record, having been recognized as a FIFA referee since 2013. He has officiated numerous matches in the AFC Champions League, AFC Cup, Asian Cup qualifiers, as well as national team tournaments, accumulating vast experience on the international stage.

Entering the final, Ninh Bình FC has a major advantage playing at their home ground. The ancient capital team holds a fairly positive head-to-head record against Công an TP.HCM with two wins and one draw. In the past, Ninh Bình beat their opponent on penalties after a 0-0 draw, and also recorded a narrow 1-0 victory.

After the match concludes, the organizing committee will hold the award ceremony for the champion and runner-up right at Ninh Bình Stadium. All relevant parties, including the match organizer and the two clubs, are required to closely coordinate with the match supervisor to ensure that the organizational work is solemn, meaningful, and compliant with regulations, concluding the season with a complete final night.