اعتماد طواقم تحكيم محايدة في «خليجي 27»

The Referees Committee of the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation held its meeting on the sidelines of the draw for the 27th edition of the tournament "Gulf 27," which took place at the Cultural Arena - the Arts Center building for the Red Sea International Film Festival in historic Jeddah.

Attending the meeting were the Chairman of the Referees Committee of the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation, Hani Taleb Balan, along with members: Hamad Ahmed Al-Mazrouei, Ibrahim Mubarak Al-Hosani, Abdulrahman Ali Al-Amri, Ali Hassan Al-Samahiji, and the committee's rapporteur, Ahmed Al-Attar.

The meeting reviewed the preliminary list of referees nominated by the participating federations to officiate the matches of the "Gulf 27" tournament, as well as the approved mechanism for appointing referee assessors and officiating teams for the tournament matches.

The attendees emphasized the organizational procedures related to the tournament from a refereeing perspective, through the organization of intensive courses for referees and exploring available means to present the tournament in the best possible refereeing image.

The committee also reviewed the invitation to nominate representatives from the Asian and African federations and worked on developing the technical level to achieve outstanding performance as the tournament kicks off.

For his part, the Chairman of the Referees Committee of the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation, Hani Taleb Balan, expressed his great happiness with the outcomes of the meeting, which was characterized by purposeful and constructive discussions that serve the interests of football referees in the Gulf region, thanking the Saudi Football Federation and the local organizing committee for hosting the committee meeting on the sidelines of the "Gulf 27" draw. During the meeting, the agenda and various activities of the referees committee during the past season of competitions were discussed, and a report on the refereeing level during the organized tournaments, which were conducted without significant refereeing errors, was presented.

Balan indicated that the refereeing system in the Gulf Federation enjoys tremendous support from the Federation President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, who believes in the role of refereeing in developing various tournaments.

He emphasized that refereeing programs are ongoing to develop referees and expand the application of video technology across all tournaments. A detailed report on the Gulf Clubs Champions League was presented, highlighting the high level of referees in it. He clarified that the criteria and considerations for selecting officiating teams for the "Gulf 27" tournament were discussed, and clear standards and performance metrics were agreed upon. Based on this, the list will be determined and announced, which will be present in the upcoming tournament competitions in September.

Some neutral officiating teams will also be selected, which will be chosen subsequently from Europe, as well as activating the agreement signed between the Gulf Federation and the African Federation to attract referees from Africa, and selecting some referees from Asia or other continents.

The meeting discussed the basic requirements for referees in terms of technical, technological, logistical, and medical aspects, among other related matters.

The Chairman of the Referees Committee of the Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation indicated that the meeting discussed the mechanism for selecting technical instructors and video technology instructors who will oversee the preparation and training of the tournament referees in the best possible manner. The meeting witnessed the exchange of many opinions, and the discussions were extremely fruitful, leaving positive impressions that serve the interests of the tournament dear to everyone's hearts, commending the efforts of all committee members.