The news is worsened by the fact that the A-League was one of the domestic leagues to trial VAR technology.

Australian referee Ben Williams and assistants Matthew Cream and Hakan Anaz refereed at the 2014 World Cup.

Surprisingly, Portugal, South Korea and Belgium are the other nations not have a referee at the tournament. New Zealand will have an official at the World Cup however, alongside assistants from Tonga and New Caledonia. 

"(Selection is based on) each referee's skills and personality, as well as his level of understanding of football and ability to read both the game and the various tactics employed by teams", FIFA said in a statement.