The Egyptian Football Association’s Referees Committee is turning to Eastern European federations in its search for a foreign refereeing team to oversee the Al Ahly-Zamalek summit on 11 October.
The Cairo rivals are scheduled to meet at Cairo International Stadium in the sixth round of the Egyptian Premier League, with the match attracting significant attention as preparations continue for one of the competition’s most anticipated fixtures.
The committee, headed by Essam Abdel Fattah, has been working to settle the identity of the officials who will take charge of the match.
Al Ahly had formally asked for a foreign refereeing team, requesting elite officials from a country belonging to one of Europe’s top five leagues. The request was included in the club’s letter to the League of Clubs and the Egyptian Football Association.
According to private sources for WinWin, the referees committee has recently shifted its attention towards several federations in Eastern Europe. The aim is to secure an international team with sufficient experience to handle the meeting between the two Egyptian giants.
The move follows difficulties in securing officials from Europe’s major leagues. A significant number of referees from those competitions are expected to be involved in the next round of Champions League matches, which are scheduled for 13 and 14 October.
The availability of referees around that period has therefore complicated efforts to bring an elite European team to Cairo for the derby.
The sources said some of the major European federations had apologised for being unable to provide a refereeing team for the match. Among those mentioned were the English and Spanish federations.
The committee had also considered bringing a refereeing team from South America, where there are several experienced officials. However, that option was subsequently dropped because of the high financial cost associated with bringing a team from the continent.
The focus is now on the contacts with Eastern European federations as the committee seeks to reach an agreement on the officials for the match.
The referees committee is currently waiting for responses from the federations it has contacted before making a final decision on the team that will take charge of the Al Ahly-Zamalek summit.
The match is set to take place on 11 October at Cairo International Stadium as part of the sixth round of the Egyptian Premier League, with the issue of the foreign refereeing team remaining one of the key matters to be resolved before the encounter.
