Referee Hamada El-Qalawi has been suspended from officiating Egyptian Premier League matches after the referees committee ruled that he made a mistake in cancelling a penalty awarded to Zed during their 2-1 defeat by Ceramica Cleopatra.
The incident happened last Saturday in the eighth round of the Egyptian Premier League, when El-Qalawi initially pointed to the penalty spot in favour of Zed before reversing his decision following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
The decision sparked controversy, with Zed disputing the referee’s change of mind and subsequently submitting an official complaint to the Egyptian Football Association’s referees committee.
The club argued that it should have been awarded the penalty during the match, which ended in a 2-1 victory for Ceramica Cleopatra.
Referees committee rules against El-Qalawi
According to sources who spoke to WinWin, the referees committee has completed its assessment of the incident and concluded that Zed should have been awarded a penalty.
The committee reportedly found fault with both the VAR intervention and El-Qalawi’s decision to overturn his original call after reviewing the footage on the pitch-side monitor.
The sources said the committee considered it incorrect for the video assistant referee to call El-Qalawi to review the incident. They added that the on-field official also made an error by changing his initial decision after watching the replay.
The footage presented to the referee during the review did not, according to the committee’s assessment, clearly demonstrate the infringement required to justify cancelling the penalty decision.
The findings represent a significant development following Zed’s formal complaint, with the committee effectively accepting the club’s position that the team had been denied a penalty.
Referee faces spell away from top-flight matches
The committee has reportedly decided to suspend El-Qalawi for a period and remove him from Egyptian Premier League fixtures for at least one round.
However, his absence from the top division could last longer, depending on the committee’s final decision and the duration of the disciplinary measure.
During this period, El-Qalawi is expected to be assigned matches in the second division, known as the Professional League, rather than officiating in the country’s top-flight competition.
The referees committee is also preparing an official review of the disputed incident as part of its assessment of refereeing decisions from the eighth round of the Egyptian Premier League.
That analysis is expected to be presented in a video examining several refereeing decisions from the round, including the controversial penalty incident involving Zed and Ceramica Cleopatra.
The committee’s planned publication will provide its official assessment of the decisions made during the fixtures, including the circumstances surrounding El-Qalawi’s decision to withdraw the penalty originally awarded to Zed.
