Essam Abdel Fattah, head of the Referees Committee at the Egyptian Football Association, stressed that the selection of referee crews for the new season's matches will be according to precise criteria.
Essam Abdel Fattah assumed the presidency of the Referees Committee succeeding the Colombian Oscar Ruiz.
Essam Abdel Fattah, head of the Referees Committee, said via the Egyptian Football Association website: "The selection of referee crews will be according to precise technical and physical criteria, ensuring that only the best are pushed to manage the league matches."
He added, "The Referees Committee will rely in evaluating referees on technical performance, physical fitness, and refereeing culture, in addition to performance reports from the past season, to select the elements most ready to manage the new season's matches."
He continued, "Referees' camps will include explanations of the latest amendments to the laws of the game, in addition to coordination with the Competitions Committee regarding a number of organizational amendments, which will contribute to unifying the vision before the start of the competitions."
He stressed, "Discipline will be the fundamental pillar for the success of the system," affirming that the Egyptian Football Association, headed by Engineer Hani Abu Rida, is preparing a major surprise for the referees that will be announced during the camps, as part of the plan to develop the refereeing system.
He continued, "We will work to expand the base of ready referees to avoid repeatedly assigning matches to the same referees," stressing the need to achieve fairness in managing matches for all clubs.
He answered, "The principle of reward and punishment? Any referee who makes a mistake will be held accountable, and that will be clear to everyone. We will also work on analyzing refereeing incidents in a scientific manner and announcing them to the public periodically, in support of the principle of transparency and the development of refereeing performance."
Today, Thursday, the "Cooper" physical fitness tests for international referees, Premier League and professional referees, and assistant referees concluded. They were held at Al-Nasr Club fields in the presence of Essam Abdel Fattah, head of the Referees Committee, in his first official appearance since assuming the committee's presidency.
The tests were attended by 44 field referees, of whom 36 passed, while 8 referees did not pass. Also present were 72 assistant referees, of whom 52 passed, while 20 assistants did not pass.
The tests were conducted according to the standards approved by FIFA, within the program set by the Egyptian Football Association and the main Referees Committee to prepare the referees before the start of the new 2026-2027 football season, as part of the plan to raise the physical and technical efficiency of the refereeing elements.
This is the third time Essam Abdel Fattah has assumed the presidency of the Referees Committee.