FIFA picks 4 Qataris to officiate in World Cup

Abdulrahman Al Jassim

Four Qatari match officials have been selected by the FIFA Referees Committee to officiate in matches at the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

FIFA selected Abdulrahman Al Jassim as Referee, Taleb Al Marri and Saoud Ahmed Al Maqaleh as Assistant Referees and Abdulla Al Marri as Video Match Official.

FIFA has selected 36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials (VMOs) based on their quality and the performances delivered at FIFA tournaments as well as at other international and domestic competitions in recent years.

Female referees will make World Cup history in Qatar this year by officiating for the first time at a major men’s tournament, the global football body FIFA announced on Thursday.

Three female referees and three female assistant referees will be part of the global showpiece event in Qatar, which will be held from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18.

Referees Stephanie Frappart from France, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita, as well as assistant referees Neuza Back from Brazil, Karen Diaz Medina from Mexico and American Kathryn Nesbitt, have all been called up.

“This concludes a long process that began several years ago with the deployment of female referees at FIFA men’s junior and senior tournaments,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA Referees Committee chairman.

“They deserve to be at the FIFA World Cup because they constantly perform at a really high level, and that’s the important factor for us. As always, the criteria we have used is ‘quality first’ and the selected match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide.”