The ADNOC Professional Football League for the 2024-2025 sports season will return to action again, starting on the 20th of this month through the matches of the third round, following the suspension due to the participation of the national team in the decisive round of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, as well as the expected participation of local clubs in the AFC Champions League for clubs in its two new versions, while sports circles are anticipating the appearance of the foreign whistle in the league this season starting from the third round, after it was absent during the first and second rounds due to the lack of strong and sensitive matches, as the matches were led by local field referees, while the summit match between Al-Nasr and Al-Wasl, which ended with the latter winning 2-0 in the UAE League for the past season, witnessed the last appearance of the foreign whistle, after the match was led by a Russian refereeing crew led by international referee Kirill Levinkov.
Three top matches in the third round are expected to witness the appearance of foreign referees, namely the match between Al Wasl, the title holder, and Al Nasr at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai, as well as Sharjah and Al Jazira at Khalid bin Mohammed Stadium in Sharjah on the 21st of this month, as well as the match between Shabab Al Ahli and Al Wahda on the 22nd of the same month at Rashid Stadium in Dubai.
During the fourth round, the summit match between Al Ain and Al Wasl on the 26th of this month is also expected to see the appearance of a foreign whistle, as well as the match between Al Jazira and Al Nasr on the 28th of the same month, scheduled at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. In the fifth round, it is also expected that the Abu Dhabi derby match between Al Ain and Al Wahda, scheduled for the 6th of next October, will witness the use of a foreign refereeing crew.
The ADNOC Professional League has witnessed fierce competition between teams since its inception this season for supremacy, leadership and the title, while the defending champion, Al Waslawi, is striving to strongly defend its title, although its start so far is modest, after it tied in the first round against Ittihad Kalba 2-2, and won in the second round with difficulty by a clean goal against the newly promoted Dibba Al Hisn team.
Al Nasr team tops the league standings after the end of the second round with six points, on goal difference from Sharjah, Shabab Al Ahli and Al Wahda respectively, while Al Ain is in fifth place with four points, and Al Wasl, the title holder, is in sixth place with four points as well.
The UAE Football Association had set the mechanism for using foreign referees for the past season 2023-2024, without a maximum limit for requests to use them in the President’s Cup competition and the Professional League competitions, while the cost of the foreign refereeing team for one match is 170 thousand dirhams for the club that submits a request to use the foreign referee in its matches.
For his part, former international football referee Abdullah Al-Ajil confirmed to “Emarat Al-Youm” that he expects foreign referees to start being used in the league starting from the third round, given the presence of sensitive matches that require a foreign whistle, stressing that the success of foreign referees in leading matches in the UAE league over the past years has encouraged local clubs to use them.
Matches expected to feature a foreign whistle starting from the third round
1- Connection with victory.
2- Al-Ahly youth with Al-Wehda.
3- Sharjah with Al Jazirah.
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