Mobile phone VAR cost a referee in Egypt

Joel JJ By Joel JJ β€’ 24th March 2023


Mobile phone VAR cost a referee in Egypt

Egyptian referee Mohamed Farouk has been suspended indefinitely after using a spectator's phone to disallow a goal in a second division league match

Al-Nasr thought they had scored a late equalizer away to Suez in a second division league match

There is no video assistant referee (VAR) in Egypt's second division, but Farouk used his phone to watch replays after the home side complained that a player had touched the ball with his hand

Farouk then made a decision to reject the goal. The Egyptian Football Federation said in a statement that Vitor Pereira, who replaced Mark Clattenburg as head of the Egyptian Referees Committee earlier this month, decided to suspend all referees indefinitely

"The committee decided to investigate the incident when Mohamed Farouk, the referee of the match, used a mobile phone to review the footage of the match," the Egyptian FA added.

Suez scored a third goal shortly after the disallowed goal to lead to a 3-1 win, with 15 minutes to go before the break

Farouk left the field under police protection, amid protests by Al-Nasr players and leaders, who have threatened to take legal action against the referee for violating the rules


  

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