680 thousand dirhams, the cost of bringing in the foreign whistle since the start of the season

Al-Ajal: It is not a contradiction to seek the help of foreign referees after the brilliance of the UAE World Cup

  • Abdullah Al-Ajel: “Clubs have the right to seek the assistance of foreign referees, as long as the Football Association gives them a decision to do so.”

  • New Zealand referee Matthew Conger officiated the Sharjah and Al Wahda match in the President's Cup final.

    Photography: Eric Arazas

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The current football season 2022-2023 witnessed the appearance of foreign referees in four matches, including two matches in the ADNOC Professional League and the same in the President’s Cup competition, knowing that last season witnessed the use of foreign referees four times after the Football Association had officially announced the use of foreign arbitration in the league, and it reached The financial cost of managing foreign refereeing teams four matches in local competitions so far is 680 thousand dirhams, while the total cost of foreign referees who have managed matches in local competitions, whether in the league or the President’s Cup so far, has reached one million and 360 thousand dirhams.

Portuguese referee Artur Suarez Diaz, who led the Al Ain and Al Wahda match, within the sixth round of the current league, became the fifth foreign referee to run matches in the UAE league since the beginning of the appearance of the foreign whistle in the league, while Hungarian referee Tamash Bognar managed the Sharjah and Al Wahda match in the eighth round of the league. for the current season.

The foreign referee has also appeared this season twice so far in the President’s Cup, the first was during the Sharjah and Al-Wehda match in the final of the President’s Cup, which was moderated by New Zealand referee Matthew Conger, and the Spanish international referee, Guillermo Quadra Fernandez, managed the Al-Ahly and Al-Wehda youth match in the 32nd round of the current version. President's Cup.

The cost of the foreign arbitration staff in the unit match, according to the Football Association, is 170,000 dirhams borne by the club that requested the summoning of the foreign staff, while the former international football referee, Abdullah Al-Ajeel, confirmed that the strength of competition between the teams, especially the front teams, makes clubs seek the help of foreign referees to manage their matches. Pointing out that he expects that the demand for the use of the foreign whistle will increase during the upcoming rounds in the league, as it will witness strong matches.

It is expected that the use of foreign referees will increase in the upcoming rounds of the ADNOC Professional League due to the presence of large “derbys” that determine the fate of the league, most notably the Al-Wehda and Al-Ain match in round 19, Al-Jazira and Al-Ahly youth in round 20, Al-Ain and Al-Ahly youth in round 21, Al-Ain and Al-Jazira in round 23, Al-Jazeera and Al-Wahda in round 25, Al Ain and Sharjah in round 26.

Last season, the presence of foreign referees was limited to four meetings in the ADNOC Professional League, where the inauguration of the experiment with Turkish Cunet Shakir at the Al Jazira summit and Shabab Al-Ahly was part of the seventh round of the league last season.

The Football Association announced a mechanism for attracting foreign referees in the current season, as the club has the right to recruit foreign referees in a maximum of four matches, whether in the League, Cup or League Cup, instead of only two matches as it was last season.

While local clubs use foreign arbitration, the Emirati arbitration crew, led by international referee Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, appeared during his participation in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, whose competitions finally closed in a distinctive way, after he managed the matches in Spain, Costa Rica, Cameroon and Serbia, and according to previous international referees, the crew appeared UAE with an honorable arbitration performance for UAE arbitration.

Abdullah Al-Ajel told «Emirates Today» in response to a question about whether there is a contradiction between the use of foreign referees in the local league at a time when the Emirati arbitration staff is shining in the World Cup: «There is no contradiction in this regard, because clubs have the right to seek the help of referees. Foreigners, as long as the decision of the Football Association gives it the right to do so, and there is intense competition between the teams, so some of them resort to the foreign whistle, since everyone is looking for victory.

• The cost of the foreign staff per match amounts to 170 thousand dirhams, borne by the club that called him up.

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