The Egyptian Football Association announced the final formation of the Egyptian Referees Committee for the new 2026/2027 season, headed by Essam Abdel Fattah.
Former referees committee member Jihad Grisha said via Modern channel: "Ahmed Mujahid interfered in the work of the referees committee, and for example, the duo Wajih Ahmed and Azab Hajjaj had to continue under any circumstances."
He revealed, "I received a call from Ahmed Mujahid informing me that if I was thinking about the duo leaving, that would not happen throughout Hani Abu Rida's term, and my response was that I am not a party to the matter."
He continued, "The controversial Al Ahly vs Ceramica Cleopatra incident was a correct penalty for Al Ahly, and I shared my opinion in the referees committee meeting, but in the end I am one person among five members."
He stressed, "Oscar Ruiz was very stubborn and clung to his opinion, and among his stubbornness was his refusal to punish Mahmoud Wafa after the Al Ahly match against Ceramica Cleopatra."
He added, "I used to blame him when he told us that Mahmoud Ashour or Wafa did not make a mistake, and I informed him that there must be a mistake because the duo's decision was different."
He concluded his statements, "Oscar Ruiz is technically at the level of lectures, and in terms of preparing referees there is no one like him in Egypt. There was an extraordinary war to remove him after the first three months because of his demands, which included appointing Jihad Grisha as his deputy and the departure of the duo Wajih Ahmed and Azab Hajjaj, but there was interference and rejection of his demands, so he yielded to that, and I told him at the time that this was the beginning of the fall."
The new committee headed by Essam Abdel Fattah includes Gamal Al-Ghandour, Samir Othman, and Mahmoud Ashour, who recently participated in the 2026 World Cup as a video assistant referee.
The draw for the Egyptian League for the new season is scheduled to take place next Wednesday, August 5.
Zamalek had won the Egyptian League title last season, while Pyramids won the Egypt Cup.
