Nigeria Excluded As FIFA Releases List Of Referees For 2018 World Cup
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Loading ...The Referees Committee of the World football ruling body FIFA has selected 36 referees and 63 assistant referees, representing 46 different countries, for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.
In a statement issued on Thursday, FIFA released a list containing six referees and 10 assistant referees from Africa – but no single Nigerian was included in the list.
According to FIFA, “the choice of the final group of match officials selected to officiate at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia was based on each referee’s skills and personality, as well as his level of understanding of football and ability to read both the game and the various tactics employed by teams.
“Over the last three years, preparatory seminars have taken place for referees and assistant referees focusing on fair play, protecting players and the image of the game, as well as consistency and uniformity”.
The selected FIFA World Cup match officials will attend another dedicated seminar for two weeks in the second half of April at the technical centre of the Italian Football Association in Coverciano, Italy. The officials will be divided into two groups, which will also include video assistant referee (VAR) candidates.
Following this seminar, the FIFA Referees Committee will announce the names of the referees selected to act as VARs during football’s most important competition, the FIFA World Cup. The selection process will take into account the candidate’s VAR experience in domestic leagues, FIFA competitions and FIFA refereeing seminars since the beginning of the VAR project in 2016.
Between now and the World Cup in June, the selected referees, assistant referees and VARs will be monitored and supported by FIFA Refereeing on an individual basis to ensure they are fully prepared. Following the seminar in Coverciano, all of the match officials will take part in a final preparatory seminar at the FIFA World Cup match officials’ HQ in Moscow, which will start ten days before the tournament kicks off. This seminar will also cover VAR.
Here is the list of African referees and assistants referees for the World Cup.
Six referees from Africa
Abid Charef Medhi (Algeria)
Diedhiou Malang (Senegal)
Gassama Bakary (Papa of Guinea)
Grisha Ghead (Egypt)
Sikawe Janny (Zambia)
Tessema Weyesa Bamlak (Ethiopia)
Ten assistant referees from Africa
Achik Redouane (Morocco)
Ahmed Waleed (Sudan)
Birumushahu Jean Claude (Burundi)
Camera Djibril (Senegal)
Dos Santos Jerson Emiliano (Angola)
Etchiali Abdelhak (Algeria)
Hmila Anouar (Tunisia)
Range Marwa (Kenya)
Samba El Hadji Malick (Senegal)
Siwela Zakhele Thusi (South Africa)
