Mohamed El Ghazy appointed referee for National Bank of Egypt v Zamalek before Jordanian Super Cup final

Mohamed El Ghazy has been appointed by the Egyptian Football Association to referee Wednesday’s Egyptian Premier League match between National Bank of Egypt and Zamalek at Cairo International Stadium.

The appointment comes only days before El Ghazy and assistant referee Ahmed Tawfik Talab are due to take part in the Jordanian Super Cup final on Friday.

El Ghazy will serve as the referee for the second-round league fixture, with Youssef El-Basaty and Ahmed Tawfik Talab appointed as his assistants. Amr El-Sayed will be the fourth official.

The video assistant referee team will consist of Wael Farhan, who will lead operations from the VAR room, and assistant VAR official Sherif Abdullah.

Wednesday’s match will be El Ghazy’s second assignment of the current season. His first came in the opening round, when he officiated Al Masry’s match against Smouha.

His record in matches involving the two teams is notably different. El Ghazy refereed five Zamalek matches last season, with the Cairo club winning all five. He has also taken charge of two National Bank of Egypt games, in which the team recorded one victory and one draw.

Zamalek began their league campaign with a goalless draw against Al Ittihad Alexandria. National Bank of Egypt, meanwhile, lost their opening fixture 1-0 to Abu Qir Fertilizers.

The fixture will therefore give both sides an opportunity to claim their first win of the new league campaign. Zamalek are the reigning Egyptian Premier League champions, having won the title last season for a 15th time in the club’s history.

El Ghazy’s appointment also places additional attention on the officials selected for the game, given that he and Talab will soon be involved in the Jordanian Super Cup final. Their participation in that match is scheduled for Friday, just two days after the National Bank of Egypt-Zamalek fixture.

The Egyptian Football Association has confirmed the complete officiating team for the Cairo match, including the on-field officials and the VAR appointments. El Ghazy will oversee the action from the pitch, supported by El-Basaty and Talab, while El-Sayed will be responsible for the fourth-official duties.

Zamalek’s opening draw followed their successful title-winning campaign last season, while National Bank of Egypt will be looking to respond after their narrow defeat by Abu Qir Fertilizers. With both teams still without a victory in the current league season, the second-round meeting carries early significance despite the campaign being in its opening stages.