Abdelhak Al-Gargouri, recently appointed as the head of the refereeing committee in Morocco, has stated that the current situation is not as catastrophic as it is portrayed.
Al-Gargouri replaced Abdelrahim Al-Mutmani, who resigned from his position after just a few months due to the unprecedented refereeing situation in the current season.
In an interview with Radio Mars, Abdelhak Al-Gargouri said: “We must give excuses to the referees; we are experiencing a terrible shortage in refereeing, both in terms of quantity and facing significant challenges in appointments.”
He added: “Then came a wave of complaints and grievances that exacerbated the situation, with each team wanting a specific referee, so what can we do?”
Acknowledging the existence of “refereeing errors” in the Moroccan league, he further stated: “But it is a global situation affecting major leagues, and any referee who makes a mistake is punished.”
“We’ve had over 60 penalties this season, but we won’t publish the names to protect their dignity.
We’re monitoring the current situation, and we know it’s not ideal, but it’s also not as catastrophic as some describe it,” he explained.
“We won’t resort to foreign referees as some demand because it requires complex procedures impossible to implement at this time, such as notifying the referees a month before their recruitment and the high cost involved,” he emphasized.
“Moreover, we have no guarantees that they won’t make mistakes as well,” he added.
Regarding referees being implicated in match-fixing allegations, he concluded: “These matters are under investigation, and we respect the decisions of the sports judiciary.”
