Egyptian referees to review controversial opening-round decisions with Essam Abdel-Fattah

Essam Abdel-Fattah, chairman of the Egyptian Football Association’s referees committee, is set to meet match officials on Tuesday to examine controversial decisions from the opening round of the Egyptian Premier League.

The meeting will take place at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association and will focus on the most debated refereeing incidents from the first round, according to FilGoal.com.

Abdel-Fattah and the committee are expected to present the relevant incidents to the referees who took charge of the matches before discussing the decisions that were made. The review will assess whether the officials’ calls were correct and examine the circumstances surrounding the incidents.

The meeting is also intended to give referees the opportunity to explain their decision-making and to identify any points that require further clarification following the opening fixtures.

There is also a proposal for Abdel-Fattah to record a video explaining the most controversial incidents from the round. The aim would be to provide supporters with greater clarity over the decisions and the interpretations applied by the match officials.

The first round of the Egyptian Premier League concluded on Sunday evening with Al Ahly against Eastern Company Enppi and Ceramica Cleopatra against El Qanah.

The league had begun on Friday with ZED FC’s match against Wadi Degla, which ended in a goalless draw.

Across the opening round, 18 goals were scored. The matches also produced 33 yellow cards and one red card.

The second round of the Premier League is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, when Smouha face Asyut Petroleum.

The referees’ committee’s review comes at the start of a new league campaign, with the authorities looking to assess contentious incidents at an early stage. The discussions will cover the decisions made during the opening fixtures rather than focusing on a single match or official.

Should the planned video be produced, it would provide an additional explanation of the incidents for supporters and set out the reasoning behind the calls made during the first round. The proposal forms part of the committee’s wider review of refereeing performances after the opening weekend.

Zamalek won the Egyptian league last season after collecting 56 points.