EMOSI KHALAYAK TERKAIT KEPEMIMPINAN WASIT AHMED AL KAF DI MEDIA SOSIAL INSTAGRAM (Analisis Isi pada Komentar di Sebuah Postingan Akun Instagram @433)

Referee Ahmed Al Kaf's controversial decision during the Indonesian national football team's match against Bahrain in the third round of the Asian zone has drawn widespread attention from Indonesians, particularly Indonesian supporters. This decision sparked outrage among Indonesian supporters on social media, particularly in the comments section of an Instagram post by the account @433. The outburst arose because referee Ahmed Al Kaf allowed time to continue even after extra time had ended, resulting in the Indonesian national team conceding a goal and failing to secure a victory, further diminishing their chances of qualifying for the World Cup. This study aims to understand how Indonesian national football team supporters conveyed their emotions through the comments section of the Instagram account @433 regarding referee Ahmed Al Kaf's refereeing in the Indonesia-Bahrain match. This phenomenon is interesting because social media, particularly Instagram, has become a digital public space for people to express opinions and emotions on social issues, including sports.
This study uses a constructivist paradigm with a qualitative approach and descriptive research. Data were obtained secondary through digital documentation in the form of comments taken from posts by the Instagram account @433 discussing referee Ahmed Al Kaf's refereeing. The data analysis technique used was qualitative content analysis, grounded in Plutchik's Emotion and Emotional Message theories as interpretative tools.
The results of the study indicate that the emotional expressions expressed in comments by Indonesian national team supporters include anger, disappointment, and disgust. These emotions are expressed through harsh language, sarcasm, the use of capital letters, emojis, and hashtags such as #afcmafia, which have become symbols of resistance to injustice. Based on Plutchik's Emotion theory, anger arises in response to injustice, disappointment stems from unmet expectations, and disgust reflects disgust with situations perceived as detrimental. Meanwhile, through Emotional Message theory, it was found that emotions function not only as psychological responses but also as a form of public communication that affirms the solidarity and collective identity of the audience, particularly Indonesian national team supporters.
This study confirms that social media serves as a public communication space where emotions are used as a means of conveying social and cultural messages. The emotions expressed in the comments section are not simply spontaneous reactions but rather symbols of digital communication that reflect the social dynamics of Indonesian society in the context of football.