Statistics monitored by Emirates Today, based on the official website of the Professional League, revealed that the last appearance of the “foreign whistle” in the ADNOC Professional Football League was on February 13, when French international referee Klimov Turpin led the match between Al Wahda and Sharjah, which was held in the 13th round. of the competition and ended in a draw (1-1), while the league matches from the 14th round to the 21st round that concluded last Saturday were devoid of any appearance of the foreign whistle, despite the presence of important and sensitive matches, but they were assigned to citizen football referees, noting that The final remaining rounds of the league will witness strong and decisive confrontations, whether at the level of resolving the title struggle or competing for survival.
Al-Wasl leads the league standings with 52 points until the 21st round, nine points behind Shabab Al-Ahly, which ranks second with 43 points, while Al-Wasl is 16 points away from Al-Ain, which is in third place.
It seemed that the clarity of vision regarding the league’s team standings, especially at the top level, which Al-Wasl sits at the top of, is behind the withholding of the “foreign whistle” from the league matches, knowing that the high financial cost could also prevent some teams from seeking help – especially those threatened with relegation to the “amateur” league. – With the foreign whistle, since the cost of attracting a foreign arbitration team for one match amounts to 170 thousand dirhams, according to a previous official decision issued by the Football Association in this regard.
For his part, the former international football referee, Abdullah Al-Ajel, confirmed that Al-Wasl’s sole lead with a large difference of points over its closest competitors and its closeness to clinching the league title, in addition to the high financial cost, are behind the clubs’ recent reluctance to seek the help of a foreign referee in the final rounds of the tournament. The league, especially the teams competing to reach the top spot, specifically Shabab Al-Ahly and Al-Ain.
He told Emirates Today: “No club in the league can pay 170,000 dirhams in exchange for hiring a foreign arbitration team in one match, even though matters have become almost settled, especially for the top spot,” pointing out that the clubs that always use the whistle The foreign teams are well known, and they are the big teams in the league competing for the title.
He added: “For the teams in the last positions in the rankings that are struggling to avoid relegation to the amateur league, their budgets do not allow them to seek foreign arbitration and pay large sums of money.”
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