Al Ahly could appoint Mahmoud Wafa as referee this season, says Egyptian referees chief

Egyptian referees committee chairman Essam Abdel Fattah says Mahmoud Wafa could officiate an Al Ahly match later this season, although he believes the appointment must be handled carefully because people are still discussing an incident involving the referee from last campaign.

Abdel Fattah also named four Egyptian officials he considers capable of taking charge of an Al Ahly v Zamalek match at present: Mohamed El Ghazali, Amin Omar, Mohamed Maarouf and Mahmoud Nagy.

Speaking to On Sport FM, Abdel Fattah said the referees’ committee had begun working on both the technical and psychological sides of officiating after finding that several officials had been affected by low morale.

“We began re-educating the referees and preparing them psychologically because we were surprised by their poor mental state. Some of them felt frustrated and their morale was not high. I did not expect the performances we saw from the referees during the first round because their condition in the pre-season camps had been difficult,” he said.

Despite those concerns, Abdel Fattah praised the standard of refereeing in the opening round, pointing out that the video assistant referee was not required to intervene in any incident.

“During the first round, VAR did not intervene in a single situation, and that is evidence that the performance was excellent. Of course, we will rely on video later, but I hope it is used only in difficult situations,” he added.

Hamada El-Qallawi was among the officials to receive individual support after struggling psychologically. Abdel Fattah said the referee had faced four difficult incidents during the match between Ceramica Cleopatra and Al Qanah, but had dealt with them well.

“Hamada was going through a difficult psychological period. We sat individually with every referee, and Hamada went through four difficult situations during the Ceramica Cleopatra and Al Qanah match and produced an excellent performance. I am happy to see him return because he is an international referee,” he said.

The committee also wants to establish refereeing academies to develop younger officials, with the aim of producing international referees at an earlier age.

“Our goal is to establish academies for referees and take care of younger officials. It is possible that in the future we will see an international referee who is only 26 years old,” Abdel Fattah said.

He defended Amin Omar’s performances at the World Cup, rejecting claims that the official had been eliminated from the tournament. Abdel Fattah said the referee’s appointment to oversee the Intercontinental Cup match between Al-Ahli Saudi FC and Auckland City was evidence of his standing.

“Amin Omar performed well at the World Cup and was not excluded as was said. The proof is that FIFA honoured him by appointing him to referee Al-Ahli Saudi FC against Auckland City in the Intercontinental Cup,” he said.

Abdel Fattah said mistakes would inevitably occur because referees were human, but insisted the committee would analyse them openly rather than conceal them.

He also supported the decision to award a penalty in an Al Ahly match, saying the available television and VAR images had been carefully reviewed before the incident was judged to be a foul inside the area. He added that a penalty in the Eastern Company Enppi v Al Ahly match would not have been awarded if the defender had jumped to challenge for the ball in the same way as the attacker, or if the ball had been too high for either player to reach. In his view, however, the attacker could have reached it without the push.

On the sending-off of Mohamed Barakat, Abdel Fattah said the referee should describe the incident in the report sent to the clubs, but declined to discuss the matter because the report had been leaked.

“‘You do not understand the law’ is a difficult phrase, and every individual must respect the other. The coach could have objected in a different way. In my opinion, I may disagree with the punishment because misconduct has different degrees and the regulations may be amended later, but as the referees’ committee we have nothing to do with the punishments,” he said.

Regarding Amin Omar’s appointment for the Zamalek v Al Ittihad match, Abdel Fattah said the committee had “started a new page” and did not intend to return to past controversies. He said its priority was to support referees and allow football to be played properly.

Finally, Abdel Fattah said the referees’ committee had inspected Petro Sport Stadium in Asyut twice and believed it was 95% ready from an officiating perspective. He said there was no objection to the venue hosting matches, with any remaining difficulty potentially linked to television broadcasting or another issue.

Abdel Fattah became chairman of the referees’ committee at the start of the current season.