Essam Abdel-Fattah warns Egyptian referees ahead of international list announcement

Essam Abdel-Fattah has warned Egyptian referees that mistakes at the start of the new league season could affect the selection of the country’s international list.

The chairman of the Egyptian Referees Committee issued the warning during the officials’ preparation camp, which is continuing as part of the build-up to the new campaign.

“The start of the league is important before the international list is announced, which will be sent at the beginning of October. I warn against any mistakes at the start of the season,” Essam Abdel-Fattah told referees at the camp.

The international list is due to be announced before it is submitted at the beginning of October, placing added importance on the opening matches of the season for officials hoping to be selected.

Abdel-Fattah is serving as chairman of the Egyptian Referees Committee this season. The committee’s full structure has also been confirmed.

Gamal Al-Ghandour and Samir Othman are the two vice-presidents, while Ahmed Wagih and Mahmoud Ashour are members alongside Abdel-Fattah.

The committee is responsible for the refereeing structure as preparations continue for the new season, with its work including the development of referees and officials involved in video technology.

FilGoal.com has reported details of the committee’s planned development work and how responsibilities will be divided.

Mohamed El-Sabahi will work with Mahmoud Ashour, a member of the main Referees Committee, on the development of referees operating in video assistant referee roles.

Mahmoud El-Banna, Mohamed El-Hanafi and Mohamed Youssef will work directly with referees to help improve their performances.

Ayman Djeish and Hany Abdel-Fattah will be responsible for working with assistant referees.

All of the development work will take place under the supervision of vice-president Gamal Al-Ghandour.

The referees’ preparation camp is being held ahead of the new season, with Abdel-Fattah using the gathering to underline the significance of the opening stage of the league and the scrutiny officials will face before the international selections are finalised.

The Egyptian Referees Committee is therefore combining preparations for the domestic campaign with a programme aimed at improving match officials across refereeing, assistant refereeing and video technology.