Essam Abdel Fattah, head of the Refereeing Committee, revealed the names of four Egyptian referees who are currently capable of officiating a match between Al Ahly and Zamalek.
Abdel Fattah said via On Sport FM radio: "We have started re-educating the referees and psychologically preparing them, as we were surprised by their poor mental state; some were feeling frustrated and morale was not high. I did not expect the performance shown by the referees during the first round, as their condition in the pre-season camps was difficult."
He continued: "During the first round, video technology did not intervene in a single case, which is proof that the performance was excellent. We will certainly rely on video in the future, but I hope it is used only in difficult cases."
He added: "Hamada El-Qalawy was going through a difficult mental state, and we sat individually with each referee. Hamada faced four difficult situations during the match between Ceramica Cleopatra and El Qana, and he delivered a great performance. I am happy with his return because he is an international referee."
He completed: "We aim to establish academies for referees to focus on the younger ones, and it is possible that we may see an international referee in the future who is only 26 years old."
He emphasized: "Amin Omar delivered a good performance in the World Cup and was not excluded as was said. The proof is that FIFA honored him by appointing him to officiate the match between Al-Ittihad and Auckland in the Intercontinental Cup."
He stressed: "If mistakes occur in the upcoming rounds, we will analyze them and say that the referee made a mistake. Of course, mistakes will happen because the referee is human, and we will not hide our opinions about the mistakes because we are working and trying to make up for many years wasted in refereeing."
He revealed: "We watch the cases on TV like viewers. Sometimes some angles are very unclear, such as the case in the Al Ahly match. Therefore, we look for the best TV images and some video technology images, and we agreed that the ball was a correct penalty."
He added: "The ball in the El Sharqia Enppi vs. Al Ahly match would not have been awarded a penalty in two cases: if the defender had jumped and tried to get the ball like the attacker, or if the ball was high and neither would have been able to reach it. However, in that case, Bnshri could have reached the ball if not for the push."
He commented: "The red card for Mohamed Barakat? The referee is supposed to describe the incident in the report sent to the clubs, but we will not talk about the matter because the report was leaked, which is unacceptable."
He continued: "You don't understand the law. It is a difficult phrase, and everyone must respect the other. The coach could have objected in a different way. In my opinion, I may disagree with the punishment because shameful conduct has degrees, and the regulations may be amended later, but as the Refereeing Committee, we have no relation to punishments."
He added: "The appointment of Amin Omar for the Zamalek and El Ittihad match? We have started a new page in the Refereeing Committee and will not return to the past with all its flaws. All we want is to support the referees and enjoy real football."
He completed: "It is possible that we may see Mahmoud Wafa officiating matches for Al Ahly in the current season, but we must choose the right time and wait, because people are still talking about the incident from last season."
He revealed: "There are four referees capable of officiating a match between Al Ahly and Zamalek currently: Mohamed El-Ghazal, Amin Omar, Mohamed Marouf, and Mahmoud Nagi."
He concluded: "We sent a committee to the Petroleum Asyut stadium twice, and I believe the stadium is 95% ready from the refereeing side. We have no problem hosting matches at the stadium from our side; the problem may be related to TV broadcasting or something of that sort."
Essam Abdel Fattah took over as head of the Refereeing Committee at the beginning of the current season.
