Egypt referee committee to explain controversial decisions after every league round

Egyptian Referees Committee chairman Essam Abdel-Fattah says members of the committee will take turns explaining controversial refereeing decisions to supporters after each round of the Egyptian Premier League.

The initiative will begin with an analysis of the disputed incidents from the opening round, with Gamal El-Ghandour set to present the first review.

“We will explain the controversial incidents in the league to the fans,” Abdel-Fattah told FilGoal.com.

He added: “All members of the committee will analyse the incidents. Gamal El-Ghandour will review the first round, including the incident involving Al Ahly and the El Sharqia-Enppi match, then Samir Othman will cover the second round, and I will take the third round, and so on.”

The referees’ committee, headed by Abdel-Fattah, held a meeting at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association on Tuesday. The meeting focused on explaining and discussing the most significant refereeing decisions from the opening weekend of the Egyptian Premier League.

The committee is also considering producing a video in which Abdel-Fattah would explain the most controversial incidents from the first round. The proposed video would be intended to clarify the decisions made by referees and give supporters a clearer account of how those calls were assessed.

The move comes after the opening round of the league, which began on Friday with ZED playing Wadi Degla in a goalless draw.

Across the first round, 18 goals were scored and 33 yellow cards were shown, along with one red card.

Committee members will rotate responsibility for reviewing the rounds rather than leaving the task solely to the chairman. Under the proposed schedule, El-Ghandour will analyse the first round, former referee Samir Othman will take the second, and Abdel-Fattah will deal with the third before the sequence continues.

The second round of the Egyptian Premier League is due to start on Wednesday when Smouha face Petrojet.

The first-round reviews are expected to address the cases that attracted the most attention from supporters, with the committee’s explanations designed to set out the reasoning behind the decisions. Abdel-Fattah is preparing to analyse the disputed refereeing incidents himself, while the wider committee will contribute to the process through the rotating presentation system.

Zamalek were crowned Egyptian Premier League champions last season after finishing with 56 points.