AFC president backs referees despite criticism

SYDNEY (Reuters) - AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has ignored the complaints of players and coaches about the standard of officiating at the Asian Cup and praised the work of the referees. The Bahraini, accompanied by Asian Football Confederation general secretary Alex Soosay, met with officials in Sydney on Tuesday, a day after Japan's Keisuke Honda slammed the performance