Egypt referees chief Essam Abdel Fattah threatens action over ‘terrible’ integrity doubts

Egyptian referees committee chairman Essam Abdel Fattah says he will take firm action against anyone who questions officials’ integrity without justification, as controversy continues during the opening weeks of the Egyptian Premier League.

“We are going through a terrible state of doubt,” Abdel Fattah told CBC television. “If I had known what I would go through, I would not have accepted responsibility for the referees committee. Unfortunately, we are being attacked by people from within our own ranks.”

He added: “We will not accept any questioning of integrity, and we will strike with an iron fist, in accordance with the laws and regulations, against anyone who undermines refereeing or casts doubt on it without justification.”

Abdel Fattah also said he would meet Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abu Rida to discuss possible solutions to the problems facing refereeing.

The official was speaking after criticism of Mohamed Maarouf’s handling of the second-week match between Al Ahly and ZED. He said he had spoken to Maarouf and that the referee’s account differed “completely” from what had been reported publicly.

“We will listen to the match’s VAR recording,” Abdel Fattah said.

Al Ahly had appealed for a penalty during the game, and Abdel Fattah said this was when a conversation took place between Maarouf and Al Ahly football director Wael Gomaa.

“There is preventive refereeing, which means that the referee warns the player,” he said.

Television presenter Karim Shehata, speaking on Al Hayat, had alleged that Maarouf warned Gomaa that Ali Mahmoud should be substituted because he had already received a yellow card. The incident was followed by the summoning of the channel’s legal representative over alleged breaches of media codes.

Abdel Fattah said a statement issued by ZED had not referred to the Ali Mahmoud incident. Instead, he said, it concerned a problem from the previous season, and he had told the club that “we are opening a new page”.

Asked about his own communication with Gomaa, Abdel Fattah said: “Wael Gomaa did not speak to me to confirm whether Mohamed Maarouf’s account of their conversation was accurate.”

The referees committee chairman also defended the decision to continue publicly analysing refereeing incidents, although he acknowledged the possibility that the explanations could be misunderstood.

“We will continue analysing incidents, but if we find that this is being understood incorrectly, it will force us to withdraw from doing so,” he said.

Abdel Fattah said he had received a number of telephone calls from club officials, claiming that many wanted decisions beyond what they were entitled to and that referees were facing sustained hostility.

“All club officials want to get more than their rights, there is a conspiracy against refereeing, and they do not want to forget the past,” he said.

He also highlighted the limited resources available to Egyptian refereeing, saying the country had only a small number of officials.

“We have a small number of referees, with no more than 2,200 referees in Egypt,” Abdel Fattah said.

Mansoura-Farco controversy

Abdel Fattah was also asked about the dispute involving El Mansoura and Pharco. He said only video technology could provide a definitive assessment of the incident, while noting that professional matches are not played with VAR.

“No player from El Mansoura objected on the pitch to Pharco’s goal,” he said.

He added that El Mansoura’s president had previously spoken to him about the club’s opening match against Baladiyat El Mahalla.

“The referee may have made a mistake, but the mistake did not affect the result of the match,” Abdel Fattah said.

El Mansoura withdrew from their game against Pharco in protest at the decision to award a goal that the club believed had been scored from an offside position.

The Egyptian Football Association subsequently imposed sanctions on El Mansoura over the withdrawal.