“The Egyptian Football Association has decided to sack the Referees Committee board (headed by Mohamed Farouk and Ibrahim Nour El Din) and appoint a new committee, which will be headed by Yasser Abdel-Raouf, with Tawfik El Sayed, Tamer Derri, and Azab Haggag as members,” the EFA said in a statement.

This week, the referees committee board came under fire after veteran referee Mohamed Adel awarded a controversial 90+7 minute penalty, following a VAR review, in a recent game, allowing Zamalek to secure a valuable 3-2 victory over NBE Club on Friday.

The board's troubles started after an audio recording was leaked two days after the Zamalek-NBE match that reportedly featured Adel using harsh language to object to being called by the VAR referee over an NBE defender's handball in the area.

Adel said the play did not warrant a penalty before returning to the pitch and awarding the penalty kick that was converted to give the White Knights the match and three points.

Ahram Online could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio recording.

Following the leak, Adel, an international referee, told a sports program that the leaked audio was an AI-generated fake and that he has filed a complaint with the prosecution over the matter.

However, in its statement on Thursday, the EFA said: “As soon as the prosecution’s investigation concludes, we will announce all the details concerning the incidents of the game between Zamalek and NBE Club."

Toxities haunt referees

Egyptian referees operate amid a toxic environment in which elements of the media, social media, and teams promote narratives that suggest referee bias for and against certain teams, thus increasing polarization among fans of popular franchises.

League giants Ahly, supported by several other clubs, called in a statement on Friday for the appointment of a foreign head for the Referees Committee “to provide a healthy atmosphere that will help the foreign expert succeed and ensure fair play among all competing clubs."

This proposal had previously been agreed upon during an Egyptian Pro League meeting on 18 September.

The EFA has hired two foreign heads for the Referees Committee in recent years, though neither appointment yielded the desired outcomes.

Renowned English referee Mark Clattenburg was appointed as head of the Referees Committee in August 2022 to streamline operations and improve perceptions of refereeing. However, Clattenberg resigned five months into the task, saying he feared for his life after a heated dispute with then-Zamalek president Mortada Mansour.

In March 2023, veteran Potuguese referee Vitor Pereira took over the committee, with a tenure set to end after the 2023/2024 season. However, Pereira failed to improve the situation on the ground or fans perception of referee bias amid a series of controversial incidents.

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