Essam Abdel-Fattah appointed new head of Egypt’s referees’ committee

Essam Abdel-Fattah has been named as the new head of the Egyptian Football Association’s referees’ committee, replacing Colombian official Oscar Ruiz for the 2026-27 season.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) confirmed on Saturday that Abdel-Fattah will assume the role of chairman of the Referees Committee, succeeding Ruiz, who had led the body since February of last year.

Abdel-Fattah’s appointment will cover the entire 2026-2027 sporting season, with the full structure of the new committee to be presented at the next meeting of the EFA board of directors.

The decision comes after the EFA formally announced the departure of the Referees Committee headed by Ruiz, along with its associated technical sub-committee.

In a brief statement, the federation expressed its appreciation to the outgoing committee, thanking Ruiz and his team for the work they carried out over the past season.

Abdel-Fattah, who has previously held senior refereeing and administrative roles within Egyptian football, was one of two leading candidates for the position.

Earlier, a source within the EFA had told FilGoal.com that the race to become head of the Referees Committee had narrowed to a straight contest between Abdel-Fattah and Samir Mahmoud Osman for the job.

That internal battle has now been resolved in favour of Abdel-Fattah, who will be tasked with overseeing the organisation, evaluation and development of referees across Egyptian competitions during the upcoming campaign.

The EFA has not yet announced further names who will serve alongside him on the Referees Committee or in any supporting technical capacities, with those details set to be finalised and approved at the forthcoming board meeting.

Ruiz, a former international referee from Colombia, had been appointed in February of the previous year as part of an effort to bring external expertise to the Egyptian refereeing system.

Under his leadership, the committee supervised refereeing appointments and performance across domestic competitions last season before the decision was taken to make a change ahead of 2026-27.

The EFA’s statement did not provide reasons for the restructuring but underlined its gratitude to the outgoing committee for its contribution over the past campaign.