The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) on Thursday dismissed the board of the Referees Committee after controversy erupted over leaked troubling recordings between a referee and the VAR in the Egyptian Premier League during a close game between Zamalek and NBE Club last week. “The Egyptian Football Association has decided to sack the Referees Committee board (headed by Mohamed Farouk and Ibrahim Nour El Din) and appoint a new committee, which will be headed by Yasser Abdel-Raouf, with Tawfik El Sayed, Tamer Derri, and Azab Haggag as members,” the EFA said in a statement.
This week, the referees committee board came under fire after veteran referee Mohamed Adel awarded a controversial 90+7 minute penalty, following a VAR review, in a recent game, allowing Zamalek to secure a valuable 3-2 victory over NBE Club on Friday. The board's troubles started after an audio recording was leaked two days after the Zamalek-NBE match that reportedly featured Adel using harsh language to object to being called by the VAR referee over an NBE defender's handball in the area. Adel said the play did not warrant a penalty before returning to the pitch and awarding the penalty kick that was converted to give the White Knights the match and three points.
- VAR Mido Salama: “I see a potential handball on the Bank El Ahly player.”
- Referee Mohamed Adel: “I just want to see the play.”
- Mido Salama: “Here, I’m showing you the play.”
- Mohamed Adel: “Rewind it, Mido.”
- Mido Salama: “Have you seen the play?”
- Mohamed Adel: “Rewind it again, Mido.”
- Mido Salama: “Okay, three frames back.”
- Mohamed Adel: “I want to see it at normal speed.”
- Mido Salama to AVAR Osama El Sayed: “Play it at normal speed.”
- Mohamed Adel: “For God’s sake, the ball’s coming from the ground and is hitting his arm!”
- Mido Salama: “I’ll show you the close angle.”
- Mohamed Adel: “It’s really tough, Mido.”
Following the leak, Adel, an international referee, told a sports program that the leaked audio was an AI-generated fake and that he has filed a complaint with the prosecution over the matter. However, in its statement on Thursday, the EFA said: “As soon as the prosecution’s investigation concludes, we will announce all the details concerning the incidents of the game between Zamalek and NBE Club." (Source: Kingfut)
League giants Ahly, supported by several other clubs, called in a statement on Friday for the appointment of a foreign head for the Referees Committee “to provide a healthy atmosphere that will help the foreign expert succeed and ensure fair play among all competing clubs." This proposal had previously been agreed upon during an Egyptian Pro League meeting on 18 September. The EFA has hired two foreign heads for the Referees Committee in recent years, though neither appointment yielded the desired outcomes. Renowned English referee Mark Clattenburg was appointed as head of the Referees Committee in August 2022 to streamline operations and improve perceptions of refereeing. However, Clattenberg resigned five months into the task, saying he feared for his life after a heated dispute with then-Zamalek president Mortada Mansour. In March 2023, veteran Potuguese referee Vitor Pereira took over the committee, with a tenure set to end after the 2023/2024 season. However, Pereira failed to improve the situation on the ground or fans perception of referee bias amid a series of controversial incidents. (Source: Ahram)