FIFA to closely monitor Moroccan referee Jalal Jiyed in Rabat showdown

FIFA’s rigorous build-up to the 2026 World Cup has intensified, with Moroccan referee Jalal Jiyed set to come under close scrutiny during Wednesday’s rescheduled top-flight showdown between AS FAR and RS Berkane in Rabat.

According to sources, FIFA’s Referees Committee will be actively monitoring Jiyed’s performance, along with his first assistant Mustapha Akarkad, as part of an ongoing evaluation program ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The initiative forms a crucial component of FIFA’s broader strategy to ensure only the most prepared and consistent officials take charge on football’s biggest stage.

The match itself presents a high-pressure environment, with both AS FAR and RS Berkane firmly in contention at the top end of the Moroccan league standings. Such fixtures are seen by FIFA as ideal testing grounds, where referees must demonstrate exceptional decision-making, composure, and positional awareness under intense scrutiny.

Insiders reveal that FIFA is placing significant emphasis on monitoring referees within their domestic competitions, particularly in decisive encounters involving title-chasing teams. These matches offer a more authentic measure of a referee’s readiness, testing not only their technical accuracy but also their psychological resilience in emotionally charged atmospheres.

For Jiyed, this fixture represents more than just another domestic assignment—it is effectively an audition on the global stage. Every call, positioning decision, and interaction with players will be analyzed in detail by FIFA’s technical observers, who are compiling performance reports on all officials shortlisted for the World Cup.

The governing body has also issued strict guidelines to referees within its World Cup pool. Officials have been instructed to avoid officiating friendly matches involving World Cup-bound nations, a move designed to preserve neutrality and maintain competitive integrity. However, they are still permitted—and encouraged—to officiate domestic and continental fixtures, where the stakes and intensity mirror those expected at the tournament.

This layered monitoring system underscores FIFA’s determination to elevate refereeing standards ahead of 2026. By placing referees like Jiyed under the microscope in demanding, real-world scenarios, the organization aims to ensure that only the most capable officials are entrusted with the responsibility of managing matches on football’s grandest stage.

As the spotlight turns to Rabat, all eyes will not only be on the players battling for supremacy but also on the man in the middle—tasked with proving he belongs among the elite set to officiate at the World Cup.