Slovenian referee Rade Obrenovic appointed for Al Ahly-Zamalek derby

The Egyptian Football Association has appointed a full Slovenian refereeing team, led by international referee Rade Obrenovic, for Sunday’s Al Ahly-Zamalek Cairo derby.

The main refereeing committee, chaired by Essam Abdel Fattah, announced the appointments on Monday for the Egyptian Premier League match, which will be the 133rd meeting between the two clubs.

Obrenovic will be supported by Jure Praprotnik as the first assistant referee and Grega Kordez as the second assistant. David Smajc has been named fourth official.

Matej Jug will serve as the video assistant referee, with David Gabrovec appointed as the assistant video assistant referee.

The decision to use an overseas team underlines the importance of a fixture that attracts exceptional attention from supporters and the media in Egypt and beyond. The match is expected to have a significant bearing on the race for the league title this season.

Obrenovic is regarded as one of the leading elite referees in European football. He has held FIFA international status since 2017 and has built a strong record in major matches at both European and international level.

His consistent performances in continental competitions have earned the confidence of Uefa. His most recent international fixture involving national teams was the Nations League meeting between Belgium and France on 28 September.

The Egyptian FA’s decision is intended to provide the highest possible standards of impartiality and refereeing fairness for one of the country’s most closely watched matches.