Referees Mahmoud Aburagel and Ahmed Hassan Taha believe that their participation as part of the first fully-Egyptian refereeing team in a FIFA World Cup is not an easy task. Despite the presence of 48 teams at the tournament held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico last month, choosing them was far from simple.
They officiated two matches: one between Czech Republic and South Korea on the opening day, and another between Argentina and Austria. Taha emphasizes that although there are 48 teams, the selection of only five main teams including the Egyptian team makes this participation significant.
Discussing the difference between World Cup refereeing and domestic league refereeing, Taha states: 'From a refereeing perspective, there is no difference. The role of the referee committee and the federation involves providing the technology used in the World Cup wherever possible.' However, Abu Ragel adds that there are aspects related to broadcasting entities such as the camera worn by the referee.
Abu Ragel, who participated in the 2022 World Cup, stresses the importance of capitalizing on this achievement and continuing to honor Egyptian football. Taha also notes that video assistant refereeing (VAR) is very useful but can be affected by various factors such as available cameras and technology.
Regarding domestic refereeing, Abu Ragel suggests that it would be better for the federation or the main referee committee to analyze match situations rather than social media users. Taha believes there are solutions to this problem, like transparently analyzing situations after each round with full clarity.
Concerning Al-Ahli Club, Abu Ragel says that what is said about the refereeing committee does not affect their work and emphasizes that Abdel Fattah, the new head of the refereeing committee, is an icon in the field of refereeing and a great supporter for them.
Regarding the Intercontinental Cup match between Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia and Auckland City New Zealand, Abu Ragel says such matches are exciting and require maintaining Egypt's reputation as a referee.
