The refereeing debate in the Egyptian Premier League has grown after Pyramids FC submitted an official complaint to the Egyptian Football Association over several decisions made by referee Mohamed Ibrahim during the team’s match against Eastern Enppi in the fifth round of the competition.

Pyramids won the match 2-1, but the club still raised concerns about a number of refereeing decisions that it believes could have affected the game and the team’s campaign in the league.

Pyramids’ Complaints

Pyramids included several incidents in its official complaint, including some yellow cards and a number of decisions that the club believes were handled incorrectly.

One of the main complaints involved an attacking move that was stopped for offside before the play was completed.

Pyramids believes the assistant referee should have allowed the move to continue before the situation was checked by VAR if necessary.

The club also questioned a decision involving Youssef Obama, who was penalized for handball while moving through on goal.

According to Pyramids, the ball hit Obama’s head rather than his hand. The club also pointed out that the assistant referee was close to the incident and did not signal for a foul.

Pyramids therefore believes the attack should have been allowed to continue before a possible VAR review.

The complaint also included an incident inside the penalty area in which Pyramids wanted a penalty for a possible handball.

The referee did not award a penalty, while the VAR official supported the on-field decision.

Pyramids also asked for Walid El Karti’s yellow card to be reviewed. The club believes the midfielder played the ball before making contact with his opponent and therefore should not have been booked.

The club ended its complaint by asking the Egyptian FA and the Referees Committee to ensure equal treatment for all teams and to appoint experienced and international-level referees for its matches.

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Referees Committee Responds

Essam Abdel Fattah, head of the Egyptian FA’s Referees Committee, responded to Pyramids’ complaint and defended the refereeing team.

He said the incidents mentioned by Pyramids did not necessarily represent major refereeing mistakes that affected the final result.

Abdel Fattah explained that some of the complaints were related to yellow cards, while another incident involved a decision that was corrected by the refereeing team during the match.

He argued that correcting a decision on the field should be seen as part of the referees’ efforts to reach the correct call rather than proof of a major mistake.

The Referees Committee chairman also said that the committee prefers to respond through technical analysis rather than through media debates.

He explained that refereeing performances and controversial incidents are reviewed regularly and presented through the committee’s weekly analysis.

Abdel Fattah also defended Mohamed Ibrahim, describing him as one of the referees who had performed well during the opening weeks of the season.

He said referee appointments are made according to the committee’s technical assessment and rejected the idea that Pyramids had been given a lower-level referee for the match.

He also argued that one disputed yellow card, even if later judged to be incorrect, should not be enough to dismiss the overall performance of a referee.

The committee, he added, will continue its work despite criticism and pressure while trying to learn from mistakes and improve the level of refereeing.

As a result, Pyramids’ 2-1 victory over Eastern Enppi has developed into a wider refereeing debate.

Pyramids is asking for its complaints to be reviewed and for experienced referees to handle its matches, while the Referees Committee continues to defend the match officials and says the controversial incidents should be judged through technical analysis.