Local referees have been under fire lately from most Egyptian Premier League club officials due to their performances this season. A number of clubs have already complained about refereeing decisions costing them points in the league table and threatened to withdraw from the competition. Cairo giants Al Ahly have even gone to demand the sacking of the referees committee, threatening to boycott the upcoming competitions organised by the EFA if their demands are not met.
Keen on improving the refereeing standards, the EFA decided to appoint renowned ex-referee Mark Clattenburg to Egypt as the head of the newly created refereeing committee. In protest of Clattenburg’s arrival, Essam Abdel-Fatah handed in his resignation, meaning Clattenburg will take charge of his role starting next week instead of next season. Clattenburg is well-known among Premier League fans having officiated over 250 games in English football before leaving in 2017. The 47-year-old then headed to Saudi Arabia where he replaced countryman Howard Webb as the head of Saudi Arabia’s referees committee. A short stint in China followed for the Englishman as he was hired by the Chinese Football Association to become one of their referees. He had also officiated a number of important games across multiple competitions in 2016 such as the UEFA Champions League and the Euro final.
Source: Kingfut
