Former athletes and football referees identified several reasons behind the absence of a foreign referee from the last three rounds (from round six to eight) in the ADNOC Professional League, noting that the most prominent of these reasons is the brilliance of Emirati referees in managing matches, whether internally in local competitions or on the field. The external level, especially in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, in addition to the Football Association recently contracting with an elite group of foreign video referees to participate in managing the matches, which had a positive impact on the performance of the local arena referees, as well as About the strong competition between a number of emerging referees to obtain the international badge, which was reflected positively on their level of refereeing, in addition to the distance of some large clubs, such as Al Ain, Al Wahda, Al Wasl and Al Jazira, from competing for the top spot until now, which reduced the intensity of the competition, while others believe that The league is still in its infancy, and it is natural for many clubs to refrain from using foreign referees, stressing that the coming rounds will witness an increase in requests for the use of foreign referees to manage matches in the league.
The current season of the professional league, which lasted for eight rounds, witnessed the appearance of the foreign whistle only four times, while the previous league witnessed, until the eighth round, the appearance of the foreign whistle six times.
The athletes told Emirates Today: “The referees’ committee must give the referees who have excelled in managing large and sensitive matches during the recent period more confidence in themselves by assigning them the task of managing large matches.”
Sharjah leads the league standings until the eighth round with 21 points, followed by Shabab Al-Ahly in second place with 19 points (with a postponed match), Al-Jazira third with 16 points, Al-Wahda fourth with 15 points, Al-Nasr fifth with 13 points, and Al-Ain sixth with 11 points (with two postponed matches). Kalba is seventh with 11 points (with a postponed match), and Khor Fakkan is eighth. With 10 points, while defending champions Al Wasl is in ninth place with 10 points, Baniyas is in tenth place with seven points, Ajman is in 11th place with seven points, Dibba Al Hisn is in 12th place with five points, Al Bataeh is in 13th place with four points, then Al Orouba is in 14th and last place with three points. .
It is noteworthy that the last appearance of the foreign whistle was in the fifth round during the match between Al Ain and Al Wahda, which was officiated by the Italian referee, David Massa, while the last three rounds were devoid of a foreign whistle, despite the presence of important matches, such as the match between Al Wahda and Al Wasl in the eighth round, which was officiated by referee Badr Boujamour. The match between Shabab Al-Ahly and Sharjah in the sixth round, which was refereed by referee Ahmed Salem Khalfan, and the match between Sharjah and Al-Nasr in the eighth round, which was refereed by Yahya Al-Mulla, and the match between Al-Wasl and Al-Jazira in the seventh round, which It was refereed by referee Ahmed Salem Khalfan, and the match between Al-Nasr and Al-Wahda in the same round was refereed by referee Muhammad Al-Harmoudi.
Distinguish the local whistle
The former international football referee, Abdullah Al-Ajel, considered that there are three reasons why clubs do not resort to foreign arbitration, including the brilliance of international referees, as well as local first-class referees, and the increasing level of arbitration with which they appeared in the recent rounds, while the second reason is the contracting of The Football Association has partnered with foreign video referees to participate in managing league matches, noting that this gives the arena referees and assistant referees great confidence, because these referees who have been contracted are considered among the elite of video referees.
Al-Ajel added: “The third reason is the strong competition between a number of up-and-coming referees nominated for the international badge, such as Badr Boujoumour, Suhail Abdullah and Nasser Al-Ali. This trio excelled in managing the matches assigned to them, and this matter strengthened the clubs’ confidence in the efficiency of the citizen referee.”
Distinctive presence
The former international football referee, Yacoub Al Hammadi, believes that the absence of the foreign whistle from the league during the recent rounds is due to the clubs, as they have the right to attract foreign referees or not, pointing out that Emirati arbitration has formed a distinctive presence in foreign participations during the recent period, which It reflects positively on refereeing in the local league.
Al Hammadi explained: “The Emirati referee at the external level is distinguished, especially the international referee, Adel Al Naqbi, who officiated the match between Saudi Arabia and Australia in the last round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, and he appeared at an outstanding level, and was the star of the round in terms of arbitration, after he made the decision to instruct the international assistant referee. , Ahmed Al-Rashidi, to cancel a goal for the Saudi national team due to offside, as this decision was successful, even though the arbitration situation was delicate, especially since in such cases, The video referee (the mouse) is the one who intervenes to resolve the controversy.”
Yaqoub Al Hammadi pointed out that international referee Omar Al Ali also officiated the match between the Oman and Iraq national teams at a high level.
When asked whether the reason for the clubs’ reluctance to use the foreign whistle in the final rounds of the league was that the competition for the lead has so far been limited to the Al-Sharjah and Shabab Al-Ahly teams, Yacoub Al-Hammadi confirmed that this is not the reason, pointing out that the clubs’ failure to use the foreign referee means their trust in the Emirati referee. .
Stay away from competition
For his part, the journalist and sports analyst, Adel Mohammed Al Hammadi, said, “There are several reasons why clubs do not use foreign whistles, including that the season is still in its infancy, but there is another reason, which is that some clubs in the capital, Abu Dhabi, are the ones who were interested in bringing in foreign referees.” Last season, and the relative distance of some of them from the competition, led to a decline in the use of foreign referees in the current season,” indicating that the issue of using foreign referees must be studied before. The Referees Committee, and making the necessary amendments to it or canceling it.
Reasons for the absence of a foreign whistle
1- Local stadium judges excelled in officiating important matches.
2- Contracting with foreign video referees with a high level of competence.
3- Strong competition between a number of emerging referees to obtain the international badge.
4- Big clubs staying away from competing for the top spot.
5-The league is still in its infancy, so many clubs are reluctant to use foreign whistles.
The appearance of foreign referees in the league
1- Al-Wasl and Al-Nasr match – third round – German referee Felix Zwier.
2- Shabab Al-Ahly and Al-Wahda match – third round – Dutch referee Danny Makele.
3- Al-Wasl and Al-Ain match – fourth round – French referee Clement Turpin.
4- Al Ain and Al Wahda match – fifth round – Italian referee Davide Massa.
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