U

nited States President Donald Trump painted a bleak picture of Mexicans during his colorful Presidential campaign and subsequent fight for a protective wall at the southern border. And now a Mexican referee at the ongoing AFC Asian Cup has done little to improve the nation’s unflattering image, however unwarranted.

Cesar Ramos, a guest official from the CONCACAF region, made a series of dubious calls as Syria was handed a 3-2 defeat against defending champions Australia in its final group game on Tuesday to be knocked out of the 2019 tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

This follows similar heartbreak for the Syrians at the penultimate hurdle before the 2018 World Cup. They suffered a costly red card in a Sydney playoff while coming up agonizingly short against the same opponents — an extra-time free-kick hit the woodwork — as they fell to a Tim Cahill-flavored 3-2 aggregate defeat.

But Syria would feel more aggrieved at Al Ain where Ramos ignored an apparent handball from Australia captain Mark Milligan after earlier awarding a goal to Chris Ikonomidis, despite claims from Syrian players that his shot did not fully cross the line. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will not be available at the Asian Cup until next week’s quarterfinals.

On a Facebook page attributed to Ramos, the Syrian fans did not hold back in their anger, with one of them photoshopping the referee with an unattractive wig and makeup.

“The joy of millions of Syrians has been lost because of you,” one wrote.

“You have done bad to Syrian players and the Syrian public will not forgive you,” complained another.

And there was even a call from a supporter for a replay of the final Group B match, “considering that the referee had wrong judgment on many actions during the game, as we deserve to win and we played with honor”.

The fans failed to mention that Ramos also gifted Syria a late equalizer when it was awarded a late penalty after Omar Al-Somah was felled in the box. But replays showed that he made no contact with any Australian player, instead tripping on a teammate.

Celtic’s Tom Rogic restored Australia’s advantage with a long-range strike in added time, confirming their progression to the knockout stages as Group B runner-up.

Syria finished bottom of the table, thus missing out on the next phase, after Palestine held group-toppers Jordan 0-0 in a game that was played simultaneously.

His substandard performance raised questions about why Ramos was involved in an Asian competition in the first place. He had also officiated in an earlier Group A game between Bahrain and India, in which the West Asian nation won 2-0, albeit amid far less controversy.

A press release on the CONCACAF website explained in grand style why Ramos had found himself so far from home.

“CONCACAF has added another chapter to its illustrious history of referee trailblazing, with the appointment of Mexican referee Cesar Arturo Ramos,” the statement trumpeted on Jan. 10.

“The appointment of FIFA World Cup referee Cesar Ramos and his team to this important 2019 Asian Cup match is a proud moment for CONCACAF as we built on our partnership with the AFC for referee development,” added its head of refereeing, Brian Hall.

The media statement explained that the AFC and CONCACAF have an exchange program that saw Ravshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan officiate the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League semifinal between Club America and Toronto FC. American Mark Geiger would subsequently take control of the 2018 AFC Champions League semifinal between South Korea’s Suwon Bluewings and Japan’s Kashima Antlers.

But while we can raise our glasses to the spirit of cooperation between confederations, Syria would surely have wished that Ramos had been assigned a less pivotal match.

Ramos was the only Mexican to officiate at last year’s World Cup and has more than a dozen years of professional experience. The first player he booked was midfielder Fernando Arce, an acclaimed midfielder who played a decade for the Mexican national team.

The 35-year-old hails from the city of Culiacan, in the state of Sinaloa, more than 1,500 kilometers from the American border where world scrutiny remains after Trump partially shut down the US government in the hope of getting federal funding for his controversial wall.

But that will be of little interest to the fans of war-torn Syria, who have once again suffered bitter disappointment around a major tournament. They may be wishing that Ramos had remained at his home in northwestern Mexico and that an Asian referee had been assigned to their most important Asian Cup game in more than two decades.

— The writer is CEO of Singapore-based Cockatoo Media and host of corporate events in Jakarta.