Media personality Ahmed Shoubir revealed details of a phone call he had with Essam Abdel Fattah, head of the referees committee, which discussed the level of refereeing during the first round of the Egyptian League and the validity of the penalty kick awarded to Al Ahly against Sharqia Enppi.
Shoubir said in a statement via his radio program: "Yesterday, I had a call with Captain Essam Abdel Fattah, and I asked him about his view on the refereeing level in the first round of the league. He told me: The most impressive thing is that the referees did not resort to video technology even once during the 10 matches."
He continued: "He confirmed that this does not mean the referee will not go to video technology again, because there are difficult plays that require VAR intervention. For example, in the Manchester City vs. Bournemouth match in the English Premier League, the former scored a goal in stoppage time, and the assistant referee indicated offside. Nevertheless, VAR confirmed the goal was valid. These things happen all the time."
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He added: "But what concerns me now is where we have reached. Last season, we used to tell the referee to make your decision and fear nothing, as there is video technology to refer to. As a result, referring to VAR became frequent, and this is not happening now."
Shoubir continued: "I asked him about the criticism the referee faced due to awarding a penalty kick to Al Ahly against Sharqia Enppi. He said: The referee was in front of the play, and the referee responsible for VAR is one of the best referees, Khaled Gamal El-Ghandour. When we reviewed the play, we confirmed that the decision was correct."
He concluded: "Essam Abdel Fattah ended his conversation by confirming that he welcomes criticism and differing opinions, but without turning the matter into a personal vendetta."
