Please find below the referees assignments for the play-offs of 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, games to be played on 25 and 26 November 2025.
Tuesday 25 November 2025
14:00 CET - Al-Rayyan (Jassim bin Hamad Stadium)
MAURITANIA - KUWAIT
Referee: Mǎ Níng CHN
Assistant Referee 1: Zhōu Fēi CHN
Assistant Referee 2: Zhāng Chéng CHN
Fourth Official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh NZL
Reserve Assistant Referee: Isaac Trevis NZL
Video Assistant Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom THA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Fedayi San SUI
17:00 CET - Doha (Grand Hamad Stadium)
SYRIA - SOUTH SUDAN
Referee: Amin Muhammad Umar EGY
Assistant Referee 1: Mahmud Ahmad Kamil Ahmad Abu Al-Rijal EGY
Assistant Referee 2: Ahmed Tawfik Talib Ali EGY
Fourth Official: Ahmed Abu Bakr Said Al-Kaf OMA
Reserve Assistant Referee: Abu Bakr Salim Al-Amri OMA
Video Assistant Referee: Lahlou Benbraham ALG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Abdullah Dhafir Al-Shahri KSA
17:00 CET - Al-Rayyan (Thani bin Jassim Stadium)
PALESTINE - LIBYA
Referee: Mario Alberto Escobar Toca GUA
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Aroldo Ventura Chacón GUA
Assistant Referee 2: Humberto Noel Panjoj Chitay GUA
Fourth Official: Juan Gabriel Benítez Mareco PAR
Reserve Assistant Referee: Eduardo Cardozo Escobar PAR
Video Assistant Referee: Dennis Johan Higler NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Antonio Joaquín García Noni URU
Wednesday 26 November 2025
14:00 CET - Doha (Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium)
OMAN - SOMALIA
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón Pérez CRC
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Carlos Mora Araya CRC
Assistant Referee 2: William Andrés Arrieta Barrantes CRC
Fourth Official: Adham Muhammad Tuma Makhadma JOR
Reserve Assistant Referee: Muhammad Mustafa Hassan Al-Kalaf JOR
Video Assistant Referee: Benjamín Pineda Ávila CRC
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Fedayi San SUI
14:00 CET - Al-Rayyan (Jassim bin Hamad Stadium)
BAHRAIN - DJIBOUTI
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo PAR
Assistant Referee 2: Milciades Saldívar Franco PAR
Fourth Official: Pierre Ghislain Atcho GAB
Reserve Assistant Referee: Boris Marlaise Ditsoga GAB
Video Assistant Referee: Allen Chapman USA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jarred Gavan Gillett AUS/ENG
17:00 CET - Al-Rayyan (Thani bin Jassim Stadium)
SUDAN - LEBANON
Referee: Abdulrahman Ibrahim Al-Jassim QAT
Assistant Referee 1: Talib Salam Al-Marri QAT
Assistant Referee 2: Saud Ahmad Al-Maqalah QAT
Fourth Official: Ahmad Abu Bakr Said Al-Kaf OMA
Reserve Assistant Referee: Rashid Hamad Ali Al-Ghaithi OMA
Video Assistant Referee: Khamis Muhammad Al-Marri QAT
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jumpei Iida JPN
17:00 CET - Doha (Grand Hamad Stadium)
COMOROS - YEMEN
Referee: Cristián Marcelo Garay Reyes CHI
Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Andrés Urrutia Córdova CHI
Assistant Referee 2: José Francisco Retamal Silva CHI
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Reserve Assistant Referee: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Rodolpho Toski Marques BRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Antonio Joaquín García Noni URU
It's a pleasure to see a referee of Elfath's caliber officiate a match for one of the lowest-ranked national teams. When else will you see this happen? :)
ReplyDeleteAs a (mostly) tongue-in-cheek comment, we can say even in these matches that FIFA are preparing the ‘cleanest’ possible route to WC2026 (final) for Elfath - Djibouti are something like 14/1 to win the match, so this is set to be by far the most lopsided tie of the seven. Ma, Escobar, Al-Jassim and Garay should be tested in their encounters. Btw, among the referees who handled these matches in the last edition of the Arab Cup was Doveri! So maybe a lenient style this time could work well… :D
DeleteBig news - Ismail Elfath has been removed from his game. Maybe still injured? Juan Gabriel Benitez new referee for Bahrein - Djibouti.
ReplyDeletePredictions MD1:
ReplyDeleteTUN-SYR: Benitez (PAR) - Garay (CHI) - Garcia (URU), Toski (BRA)
QAT-PAL: Makhadmeh (JOR) - Eskas (NOR) - Al-Shehri (KSA), Puudom (THA)
MAR-COM: Nyberg (SWE) - Ma (CHN) - Gillett (ENG), San (SUI)
KSA-OMN: Atcho (GAB) - Escobar (GUA) - Benbraham (ALG), Chapman (USA)
EGY-KUW: Al-Kaf (OMN) - Calderon (CRC) - Iida (JPN), Pineda (CRC)
JOR-UAE: Eskas (NOR) - Elfath (USA) - Higler (NED), Garcia (URU)
ALG-SUD: Kawana (NZL) - Benitez (PAR) - Al-Shehri (KSA), Puudom (THA)
IRQ-BAH: Al Jassim (QAT) - Omar (EGY) - Al-Marri (QAT), Toski (BRA)
People here are already putting Ismail Elfath forward as a potential World Cup 2026 final referee. And sure, we don’t know why he was taken off the match - it could be for any number of reasons. But let’s first see Elfath handle a professional match at a FIFA tournament again, after such a long period of absence. Only then will I draw conclusions about his chances for the final, because the performance level needs to justify it.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, if FIFA wants Elfath at the World Cup, he will be there. In fact, FIFA has always shown appreciation for its veterans and for referees who have already been through a World Cup cycle. Look at Marciniak in 2022: he had a clear advantage over the UEFA referees who were there for the first time. He knew exactly what was required in terms of preparation. Returnees always have a head start.
That said, in my view the longer it takes for Elfath to return, the harder it becomes to justify his selection compared to someone like Dickerson - who, in that scenario, you might then feel obliged to select as well.
MTNKUW (Ma Ning)
ReplyDeletehttps://files.fm/u/dp9wn86wug
07' - Goal KUW detected by GLT
30' - missed YC 4MTN for SPA
32' - YC 2KUW for SPA, mandatory
41' - YC 10MTN for UB, possible RC for VC (deliberate kick and small headbutt)
45+1' - YC 21MTN for reckless challenge, possible advantage not given
45+3' - possible YC 13MTN for step on foot, not mandatory
54' - YC 4KUW for reckless tackle, mandatory
56' - [VAR] Goal KUW disallowed for offside, potential foul in APP at first
62' - missed at least YC 7MTN for reckless use of arm, possible RC for VC
68' - possible YC 11MTN for SPA, not mandatory
74' - YC 8KUW for reckless tackle, ok
78' - YC 11MTN for reckless tackle, ok
83' - missed YC 15MTN for UB push, verbal warning not enough
86' - YC 2MTN for holding/SPA, mandatory
90+6' - YC 6KUW for SPA kick (possible RC for VC), YC 18MTN for UB
I watched this game live and thought this one of Ma Ning's better appearances; the match was quite weird in the manner that it was played, with a high number of player-player conflicts arising at somewhat unpredictable junctures. The minutes 30 to 40 were not especially well-handled, and it led to the offence at 41', which could easily have been a red card. That being said, if the Chinese referee keeps up this solid-ish level of refereeing in his remaining games, I think he will have done enough to attend the WC by virtue of being the leading East Asian referee (discounting Aus/Faghani).
DeleteSYRSSD (Amin Muhammad Umar)
ReplyDeletehttps://files.fm/u/7bx2wbtpz9
05' - possible YC 13SSD for reckless kick, still ok no card
11' - YC 2SSD for reckless use of arm, ok
16' - PAI handball, natural arm position, ball bouncing off from the chest, ok play-on
22' - possible YC 5SSD for reckless studs challenge, ok no card
29' - possible YC 22SSD for SPA, ok no card due to no teammates to pass the ball to + the foul was soft
32' - possible YC 5SSD for SPA, still ok no card
38' - PAI kicking, there are two minor kicks on the attacker's foot but most likely not enough for intervention and the exaggerated reaction doesn't help
43' - YC 10SYR for reckless challenge, ok but not consistent with the lenient line applied to SSD players earlier in the game
51' - YC 3SSD for SPA tackle; in the box this challenge would most likely be assessed as fair tackle on the ball (especially by VAR, often an intervention if whistled)
59' - possible YC 14SYR for holding but ok advantage given, not referee's fault that SSD were technically poor to not develop a quick attack
68' - YC 19SYR for reckless challenge, ok; no replay shown but shortly after the challenge, one of SSD players steps on the leg of his opponent - difficult to judge whether accidental or deliberate
69' - missed illegal use of arm by 20SSD and possible YC
73' - YC 12SSD for reckless challenge, ok
81' - YC 18SSD for reckless challenge, ok
86' - PAI pushing; interesting incident but given that the ball was going off the field it's an ok play-on call
90+2' - possible YC 20SYR for off-the-ball holding during quick counterattack
Wow, amazing job with these highlights compilations, thank you!(!!)
DeleteAbout this match specifically, I would say the resume of Amin (combining my impressions from his three games at the last AFCON) should be thus:
++ intelligent decisions, good reading of the game
+/- good movement, but oriented a lot around height (like a fitter version of Aytekin)
-- a decent level of basic authority, but not great soft skills
I would rate this performance as pretty good because the overcome the main problem that the ref of this game would face, keeping in check the agricultural play of South Sudan (the early YC was a bit exaggerated/'unfair', but the rest was sound), was overcome quite easily. Amin should have been helped by the linesman (69') and Al-Kaf (+92') with the missed cautionable offences. In principle, 68' ought to be assessed as deliberate imo, because players should lose the benefit of the doubt when they do something like that when the game is already dead. Good Var-ing at 38' by Benbraham, no foul was committed there (it isn't difficult to imagine some VAR, from let's say AFC, calling the ref there for alledged careless challenge).
PLELBY (Mario Escobar)
ReplyDeletehttps://files.fm/u/6rsexbjk8h
13' - missed YC 9LBY for reckless use of arm (after being fouled)
25' - play-on after step on leg by 9PLE; difficult to prove it was deliberate (in case, a RC for VC of course)
27' - missed YC 19LBY for reckless challenge
48' - YC 3PLE for reckless step on foot, ok
55' - PAI holding, absolutely nothing there
69' - missed careless-reckless tackle by 21PLE in front of the benches
79' - missed YC 8PLE for reckless tackle
89' - possible YC 4LBY for reckless challenge, possible YC 6PLE for mobbing
A really difficult incident to assess at the end of Milan-Lazio: a possible penalty for handball after a challenge. In my opinion, the best decision would have been to play on. After several minutes, Collu was called to the VAR and made the worst possible decision: to avoid problems, he invented an attacking foul before the handball. It reminded me of a serious mistake by Pinheiro in Juventus-Nantes
ReplyDeleteMore penalty than a foul,but then again,pressure from Allegri and all those surrounding him maybe got to him.
DeleteIt would be very long story to tell, I don't want to bother readers once again with Italian refereeing...
DeleteCome on,we all love Italian drama all we need is Rocchi's statement now.
Delete@Chefren what do you think,penalty or attacking foul?Or maybe no VAR intervention?
A piece of very 'final refereeing' tonight in the Libertadores decider...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.streambug.org/cv/49c785
Violent conduct, committed in the mode of an SFP, was still not enough for an expulsion! Hector Palleta (arg) was the VAR, and the non-RC was really key for the game, because Flamengo ultimately won 1-0. Taking that incident aside, the match was handled in a generally decent manner by Dario Herrera. (I do not believe Herrera will be selected for the WC though.)
Speaking of Arab competitions, I just came across this certainly uncommon piece of news. At the end of a King's Cup quarterfinal match in Saudi Arabia, Benzema, who scored a hat-trick, asked the referee to sign the match ball for him. I believe this is a sign of an excellent performance from the Dutchman. In fact, the commentator even had words of praise for the Dutch referee.
ReplyDelete“Danny Makkelie brings this match to an end after an excellent and strong performance here at Al-Faisal Stadium. Al-Ittihad secured a dominant victory over Al-Shabab, decided in the closing minutes of the match. In a moment rarely seen, star player Karim Benzema asked Danny Makkelie to sign the match ball he received after completing his hattrick.”
Here the clip of the event:
https://streambug.org/cv/ad5463
Wow, that’s very cool to watch. Makkelie has become a welcome and respected guest in Saudi Arabia; he is often appointed for the big, high-pressure matches.
DeleteMaybe if he put as much energy into delivering good performances on the pitch as he puts into his PR on this blog (Chefren and friends), he would have some chances in UEFA knock out phase as well.
Deletehttps://x.com/tjcope/status/1994720515651768617 2005 CL final referee Mejuto Gonzalez sent off by Hernandez on Friday.....(he is the Getafe delegate and was punished because of the ball boys causing delays)
ReplyDeleteWhen are the appointments gonna be made?
ReplyDeleteI ll watch tunisia tomorrow, will comment on the referee
Appointments for tomorrow's two games have already been announced:
DeleteTUNSYR: Calderón (CRC)
QATPLE: Nyberg (SWE)