- The president of the Federal Committee of Referees has announced his retirement from refereeing. What is your reaction after this decision?
- It's a non-event for me. First of all, it is not a retirement, we must not deceive people; it is an automatic departure with regard to the end of his mandate in the office, that is for precision. I do not have an opinion on a person who has marginalized all the skilled persons to bring back people who have given absolutely nothing to refereeing, even worse, they have destroyed it. I ask him the following question: Has Hammoum a quiet conscience vis-à-vis Haimoudi? I think, as everyone has noticed, that his transition to the head of the CFA was marked by a blatant dysfunction that caused the level of refereeing to decline in an incredible way; he completely destroyed it. Every week, we are constantly experiencing recurring errors of referees, which often have a direct impact on the outcome of matches, hence the club's apprehension of referees.
- It's a non-event for me. First of all, it is not a retirement, we must not deceive people; it is an automatic departure with regard to the end of his mandate in the office, that is for precision. I do not have an opinion on a person who has marginalized all the skilled persons to bring back people who have given absolutely nothing to refereeing, even worse, they have destroyed it. I ask him the following question: Has Hammoum a quiet conscience vis-à-vis Haimoudi? I think, as everyone has noticed, that his transition to the head of the CFA was marked by a blatant dysfunction that caused the level of refereeing to decline in an incredible way; he completely destroyed it. Every week, we are constantly experiencing recurring errors of referees, which often have a direct impact on the outcome of matches, hence the club's apprehension of referees.
- Rightly, you touch a sensitive point of refereeing. Why all these recurring errors of referees, sometimes even intentional referees?
- It is the poor handling of the referees by the structure that has not put the right people in the right place. However, the president of the FAF has put a lot of resources at the disposal of the CFA, sometimes more than enough, for a mediocre result; that is the paradox. I am amazed and scandalized when I learn from Hammoum that the CFA has organized many seminars. What was done during these seminars? Seminars are not organized with one person who does all the subjects of the refereeing, whereas it is very limited pedagogically and has no experience in the world of refereeing. There are many skilled people that have been marginalized by the president of the CFA. When refereeing is put in the hands of one person, the results can only be catastrophic. Errors are part of the game, but at home they have become recurring. Moreover, the CFA lied to the referees, it deceives them. When a referee makes a mistake, you have to reframe it and show where improvement is needed, so that in the future it does not re-occur. It should not be left in the blur.
- It has also been observed that it is always the same referees who are used: Benbraham, Bekouassa, Arab and Boukhalfa. What do you think?
- Again, this is a serious strategic error, the CFA did not create competition between the referees. They trusted a group of referees who found themselves without competitors, so it is normal that others are dissatisfied with this management. Some of the referees you mentioned are good, you have to manage them and avoid pressure. They talked about an elite. Are there no other referees who deserve to be part of this elite? The other mistake is that the CFA has been working on quantity and not on quality, which is very serious, because refereeing needs quality to raise the level of competitions. This function is the backbone of football. The appointments of referees are not made according to well-defined criteria. When the president of the CFA sends a sms to the referees at 3:00 am to inform them of their appointment, it is very serious… how do you want the referee to be concentrated, prepare his match, his trip, his strategy? That is why I am saying that there is total bankruptcy in the management of referees. A disciplinary code must be introduced into the rules of the referees; it is a primary condition.
- The president of the CFA says that five internationals have retired and it is difficult to replace them...
- There, too, he fabulates. The five referees retired gradually. Belaïd Lacarne had six international referees that retired in 2001 and replaced them with Djaballah, Benouza, Haïmoudi, and two years later, the Algerian refereeing reached CAN 2004 with Djezzar, then 2006 Benouza, 2008 Benouza and I until the World Cup 2014. There was short-term work that had borne fruit, it is not the case today, there is no work strategy or management; it is total disregard, notwithstanding the resources that FAF made available to the CFA. You do not replace an international with a 37 or 38-year-old referee, you have to work with a 27-year-old to make a sustainable investment. It is now necessary to think of the project of professionalization of the referees with a group of 5 to 10 referees under the age of 30; this is the future of refereeing. As is the case in the world, it is necessary to have a futuristic vision on the development and training of the referees of tomorrow with people still active, but not with those who left refereeing twenty years ago. They do not bring anything back.
- Some mention the weakness of the CFA component...
- It was he who brought back his collaborators and he must entirely assume his choice. People need to know that a regional referee can never form a World Cup. Even a former international who has not participated in any CAF or FIFA competition can not form a World Cup referee.
- Hammoum says he has solicited you and has never closed the doors of the CFA...
- It's wrong! He wants to deceive sports opinion, he never asked me, he did everything to block me, yet I do not know him, I met him only once in the final of the Algerian Cup, MCA-USMA, when he was the match delegate; I did not understand his stubbornness against me, I leave him with his conscience. Elsewhere, former World Cup referees have been promoted to important posts, at home, while Hammoum has dismissed them for nothing.
- What should be the profile of a CFA president in the future?
- You need an honest and competent person, authoritative and respectable, so that the referees feel that they are dealing with a person who does not play with their work, because the big problem today is discipline. Someone must come to restore what has been lost and all current members must give way to new faces to boost the refereeing.
- So, are you interested in the post of president of the CFA?
- I am perhaps surprised, I am not interested in the post of President of the CFA for the moment; this position is political, I am a technician who has received a high level training at FIFA before the Brazilian World Cup, where I refereed matches including the one for the third place, Brazil - Netherlands. I want to help my country with the training of the referees of tomorrow, with a modern model, I also want to contribute to the development and the technical organization of the refereeing. The seminars attended with CAF and FIFA allowed me to enrich my knowledge of training and development. If my country needs me, I am ready to respond; I must give back to Algeria what it has given me. Hammoum closed the doors of my country to transmit my know-how. Several referees called me to ask me to come and mentor them; it hurts me to live all this.
Source: Liberte Algerie
- It is the poor handling of the referees by the structure that has not put the right people in the right place. However, the president of the FAF has put a lot of resources at the disposal of the CFA, sometimes more than enough, for a mediocre result; that is the paradox. I am amazed and scandalized when I learn from Hammoum that the CFA has organized many seminars. What was done during these seminars? Seminars are not organized with one person who does all the subjects of the refereeing, whereas it is very limited pedagogically and has no experience in the world of refereeing. There are many skilled people that have been marginalized by the president of the CFA. When refereeing is put in the hands of one person, the results can only be catastrophic. Errors are part of the game, but at home they have become recurring. Moreover, the CFA lied to the referees, it deceives them. When a referee makes a mistake, you have to reframe it and show where improvement is needed, so that in the future it does not re-occur. It should not be left in the blur.
- It has also been observed that it is always the same referees who are used: Benbraham, Bekouassa, Arab and Boukhalfa. What do you think?
- Again, this is a serious strategic error, the CFA did not create competition between the referees. They trusted a group of referees who found themselves without competitors, so it is normal that others are dissatisfied with this management. Some of the referees you mentioned are good, you have to manage them and avoid pressure. They talked about an elite. Are there no other referees who deserve to be part of this elite? The other mistake is that the CFA has been working on quantity and not on quality, which is very serious, because refereeing needs quality to raise the level of competitions. This function is the backbone of football. The appointments of referees are not made according to well-defined criteria. When the president of the CFA sends a sms to the referees at 3:00 am to inform them of their appointment, it is very serious… how do you want the referee to be concentrated, prepare his match, his trip, his strategy? That is why I am saying that there is total bankruptcy in the management of referees. A disciplinary code must be introduced into the rules of the referees; it is a primary condition.
- The president of the CFA says that five internationals have retired and it is difficult to replace them...
- There, too, he fabulates. The five referees retired gradually. Belaïd Lacarne had six international referees that retired in 2001 and replaced them with Djaballah, Benouza, Haïmoudi, and two years later, the Algerian refereeing reached CAN 2004 with Djezzar, then 2006 Benouza, 2008 Benouza and I until the World Cup 2014. There was short-term work that had borne fruit, it is not the case today, there is no work strategy or management; it is total disregard, notwithstanding the resources that FAF made available to the CFA. You do not replace an international with a 37 or 38-year-old referee, you have to work with a 27-year-old to make a sustainable investment. It is now necessary to think of the project of professionalization of the referees with a group of 5 to 10 referees under the age of 30; this is the future of refereeing. As is the case in the world, it is necessary to have a futuristic vision on the development and training of the referees of tomorrow with people still active, but not with those who left refereeing twenty years ago. They do not bring anything back.
- Some mention the weakness of the CFA component...
- It was he who brought back his collaborators and he must entirely assume his choice. People need to know that a regional referee can never form a World Cup. Even a former international who has not participated in any CAF or FIFA competition can not form a World Cup referee.
- Hammoum says he has solicited you and has never closed the doors of the CFA...
- It's wrong! He wants to deceive sports opinion, he never asked me, he did everything to block me, yet I do not know him, I met him only once in the final of the Algerian Cup, MCA-USMA, when he was the match delegate; I did not understand his stubbornness against me, I leave him with his conscience. Elsewhere, former World Cup referees have been promoted to important posts, at home, while Hammoum has dismissed them for nothing.
- What should be the profile of a CFA president in the future?
- You need an honest and competent person, authoritative and respectable, so that the referees feel that they are dealing with a person who does not play with their work, because the big problem today is discipline. Someone must come to restore what has been lost and all current members must give way to new faces to boost the refereeing.
- So, are you interested in the post of president of the CFA?
- I am perhaps surprised, I am not interested in the post of President of the CFA for the moment; this position is political, I am a technician who has received a high level training at FIFA before the Brazilian World Cup, where I refereed matches including the one for the third place, Brazil - Netherlands. I want to help my country with the training of the referees of tomorrow, with a modern model, I also want to contribute to the development and the technical organization of the refereeing. The seminars attended with CAF and FIFA allowed me to enrich my knowledge of training and development. If my country needs me, I am ready to respond; I must give back to Algeria what it has given me. Hammoum closed the doors of my country to transmit my know-how. Several referees called me to ask me to come and mentor them; it hurts me to live all this.
Source: Liberte Algerie
