Rade Obrenovic to referee Zamalek v Al Ahly Egyptian Premier League clash

The Egyptian Referees Committee chairman Essam Abdel-Fattah has defended the appointment of Slovenian official Rade Obrenovic for Sunday’s Zamalek against Al Ahly match, describing him as one of Europe’s elite referees.

Obrenovic will take charge of the Egyptian Premier League fixture with a fully Slovenian officiating team. Abdel-Fattah confirmed to FilGoal.com that the officials would arrive on Saturday ahead of the game.

“I do not know why some people object to Slovenian referees,” Abdel-Fattah said. “Slovenia is an advanced country when it comes to refereeing, and the referee for the 2026 World Cup final was Slovenian. I therefore do not understand why some believe they are not among the elite.”

The match is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 11 October, in the sixth round of the Egyptian Premier League.

Abdel-Fattah also said he had initially hoped to appoint a Portuguese team, but the response from Portugal came too late.

“I wanted a referee from Portugal and we did contact them. They agreed, but the response arrived late and we had already brought in the Slovenian team,” he added.

The officials appointed for the match are:

– Referee: Rade Obrenovic – Assistant referee: Jure Praprotnik – Assistant referee: Grega Kordez – Fourth official: David Smajc – VAR: Matej Jug – AVAR: David Jabrovic