Egypt referees will return to Al Ahly and Zamalek matches when trust is restored, says Samir Othman

Samir Mahmoud Othman, a member of the Egyptian Referees Committee, says Egyptian officials will resume refereeing Al Ahly and Zamalek matches once confidence in their performances has been rebuilt.

The next meeting between the two clubs will be overseen by a Slovenian team led by Rade Obrenovic, who will act as referee.

“We want to restore the way refereeing used to be,” Othman told MBC Masr 2. “The task is not easy, but it is not impossible either. We need hard work and close monitoring of performances and results.”

Othman said every member of the committee has a role in appointing referees. A schedule contains the names of all officials and their regions, helping the committee avoid potential conflicts with the matches they are selected to officiate.

“Appointments are based on competence, not rotation,” he added.

He said the committee’s members were working collectively, recalling an example from their first meeting. “All the members of the committee are working for our collective success,” Othman said. “At the first meeting, Essam Abdel-Fattah gave up the main seat to Gamal El-Ghandour because he was the oldest.”

The committee carried out an assessment of the referees the day after taking responsibility, but Othman said the process exposed problems with the application of the laws of the game.

“The most difficult thing we faced was the incorrect application of the law in some decisions during the assessment,” he said. “The biggest problem is that the last promotion test for referees, and the last intake of new officials, took place in 2021.

“There are referees aged 30 who are still in the third division, even though at that age they should be among the candidates for the international list.”

Committee aims to unify decisions

Othman also said the committee planned to revive the practice of reviewing contentious incidents after every round of matches.

“Analysing controversial cases every round was an idea from the Referees Committee,” he said. “We agreed to review both positive and negative cases in order to unify decisions among referees.

“We watch the incident and vote on whether the decision was correct. The view that receives the majority becomes the position of the Referees Committee.”

He added that it would take “two or three more rounds” before clear development in refereeing performances could be assessed, although he said the number of mistakes had already fallen noticeably.

Addressing reports that some clubs did not want particular referees appointed to their matches, Othman insisted the committee would retain control over selections.

“We are the ones who appoint the referees, and the clubs will not control us,” he said. “But we must be intelligent in our choices and in the timing of those appointments.

“For example, some people ask whether Mahmoud Wafa will referee Al Ahly matches. Wafa is an international referee and, of course, he will referee an Al Ahly match at some point.”

Othman said Egyptian referees would only return to the country’s major derby when they regained the confidence of the Egyptian media.

“That will happen only when the referee gives his full effort,” he said. “Sometimes we see frustrating incidents caused by a referee’s lack of attention.”