Friday 10 April 2026 – 06:21 AM
The countdown to the start of the competition has begun World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to be held in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, during the period from June 11 to July 19.
A strong Arab presence for referees in the World Cup
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) unveiled the names of the referees selected to manage the 2026 World Cup matches, which witnessed a strong Arab presence.
FIFA selected 170 referees from 50 different countries, including 52 main referees, 88 assistants, in addition to 30 video technology referees, from the six continental federations.
FIFA selected 23 Arab referees, representing only 9 countries: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, UAE, Qatar, Jordan and Somalia.
The list witnessed a historic appearance for Egyptian referees, after FIFA chose a full refereeing team – 4 referees – for the first time in history, while Saudi arbitration returned to its international appearance after an absence of 16 years.
Tunisian referees were absent from the selections, coinciding with the crises that Tunisian football is suffering at the refereeing level during the current season, amid many clubs’ anger at the referees’ decisions and the frequent use of foreign referees, especially in major matches.
List of Arab referees in the World Cup
Egypt: Amin Omar (area referee) – Mahmoud Abu Al-Rijal (assistant referee) – Ahmed Hossam Taha (assistant referee) – Mahmoud Ashour (video technical referee).
Algeria: Mustafa Ghorbal (area referee) – Moqrane Jourari (assistant referee) – Akram Abbas Zerhouni (assistant referee) – Lahlou Ben Brahim (video technology referee).
Morocco: Jalal Jaid (referee) – Zakaria Prinsi (assistant referee) – Mustafa Akrakad (assistant referee)
Saudi Arabia: Khaled Al-Taris (referee) – Muhammad Al-Abakri (assistant referee) – Abdullah Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia).
UAE: Omar Al Ali (referee) – Mohammed Al Hammadi (assistant referee)
Qatar: Abdul Rahman Al-Jassem (area referee) – Saud Ahmed Al-Maqaleh (assistant referee) – Khamis Al-Marri (video technical referee).
Mauritania: Dahan Beida (referee).
Somalia: Omar Artan (referee).
Jordan: Adham Makhamdeh (referee).
Kuwait: Abdullah Jamali (video technical referee).
