Essam Abdel Fattah denies Al Ahly protested referee appointment

Essam Abdel Fattah, president of the referees committee, has denied that Al Ahly protested against the referee appointed for its high-profile match against Zamalek. He also outlined the steps that led to the selection of Slovenia’s Rade Obrenović for the eagerly awaited fixture.

The referees committee of the Egyptian Football Association announced Obrenović’s appointment for the Al Ahly-Zamalek match, scheduled for Sunday, October 11, at Cairo Stadium in the sixth round of the Egyptian Premier League.

Speaking on Al Nahar, Abdel Fattah described the search for a referee. “We contacted the five major European leagues to bring in referees for the big match, but three countries declined: Germany, England and Italy. Spain agreed, but proposed referees who were not among the elite, as did Portugal.”

He said the committee had also approached Poland’s Marciniak, who was already committed to officiating another match at the same time, as well as a large number of referees who had handled World Cup matches. The choice ultimately fell on Obrenović. Abdel Fattah noted that he had refereed France-Belgium and that Arab leagues, including those in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, relied on him. He said Obrenović suited the criteria they had considered and pointed to Slovenia’s standing in refereeing, noting that a Slovenian referee had officiated a World Cup final.

Abdel Fattah also addressed the planned development of VAR. The Football Association has formed a specialist committee to study updates to the technology. “The Football Association has formed a committee, including a member of the referees committee, to launch a new tender for upgrading VAR technology. We will request the updates we need in the coming period,” he said.

He also explained that Mahmoud Ashour, the referees committee member responsible for video assistance, had received an offer to work for a television channel. Abdel Fattah gave him an extra week to decide whether to stay or move into analysis. He said it was not possible to combine committee work with analysing Egyptian Premier League matches, and that Ashour had been interested in analysis from the outset. Mohamed El-Sobahi could replace him. “Mohamed El-Sobahi is making great efforts within the referees committee and has extensive experience with VAR technology, and we will all support him,” Abdel Fattah said.