A statistic monitored by 'Emirates Today' reveals that the first round matches of the current 2025-2026 professional football league season have seen a significant presence of foreign referees over local ones, especially in major and sensitive matches assigned to foreign officiating teams. Meanwhile, local referees have been absent from officiating 'derbies', contrary to past practices. Foreign referees have appeared in 30 matches so far this season, with the total cost of bringing in foreign referees for these matches amounting to 5 million and 100 thousand dirhams. It is worth noting that according to a previous decision by the Football Association, the cost of hiring a foreign referee for a single match is 170,000 dirhams, a policy that the association began implementing in the 2021-2022 season. This season, Al Ain tops the list for the most appearances by foreign referees in its matches, with 12 out of 13 games in the first round. The only match involving Al Ain that did not feature a foreign referee was its game against Bataeh in the first round, which Al Ain won 2-1 and was led by international referee Omar Ali. Al Wasl came in second with foreign referees appearing 8 times in its matches. Al Ahli Youth and Al Jazira each had foreign referees 7 times, while Al Wahda had them 6 times, and Al Shabab and Al Nasr had them 5 times each. Bani Yas had them 3 times, Al Jazira and Al-Qadsia had them twice, and Al-Hurfaqan, Al-Dhafra, and Dibba had them once each. Bataeh's matches were completely free of foreign referees. It is observed that with the exception of the first round, the only round without any foreign referee appearances, all other rounds have seen a notable presence of foreign officials. Former international player and technical analyst Abdulrahman Muhammad commented to 'Emirates Today' on the practice of professional league clubs hiring foreign referees, especially Al Ain, which used 12 foreign referees out of 13 matches. Muhammad stated that Al Ain made the decision to hire a foreign referee for all its league matches after its game against Bataeh in the first round, noting that the decision is based on the club's policy in this regard. He believes that even a foreign referee can make mistakes in match incidents, not in the laws of the game. 'Dibba and Al Ain'.. First appearance of a foreign referee in the season. The foreign referee made its first appearance in the current league season in the second round during the Dibba vs. Al Ain match, which ended with a 3-2 victory for the latter, refereed by Turkish official Halil Amut. In the same round, the Brazilian Ramon Abati refereed the Sharjah vs. Al Jazira match, and the Norwegian Espin Eskos refereed the Al Wahda vs. Al Ahli Youth match. In the third round, foreign referees appeared in three matches: Uzbek referee Legiz Tatashief officiated Al Ahli Youth vs. Bani Yas, Slovenian Slavko Vinich officiated Al Jazira vs. Al Nasr, and French referee Clement Turban Louis officiated the Al Wasl vs. Al Ain summit. In the fourth round, South Korean referee Kim Jung refereed Bani Yas vs. Al Jazira, and Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton refereed Al Ain vs. Al-Hurfaqan. Singaporean referee Mohammad Taki officiated Al Nasr vs. Al Ahli Youth. In the fifth round, Dutch referee Serdar Güzepiyo refereed Al Jazira vs. Al Wahda, German referee Felix Xavier refereed the Al Ahli Youth vs. Al Ain summit, and Turkish referee Halil Amut refereed Al Wasl vs. Al Shabab. In the sixth round, Slovak referee Ivan Kruzliak refereed Al Ain vs. Bani Yas, and Jordanian referee Adham Mahadma refereed Al Wasl vs. Al Nasr. In the seventh round, foreign referees appeared in three matches: South Korean referee Manyang refereed Al Wahda vs. Al Nasr, Brazilian referee Rafael Kraus refereed the Al Ahli Youth vs. Al Shabab summit, and Argentine referee Facundo Tello refereed Ajman vs. Al Ain, with Emirati referee Rouda Al Mansouri appearing as the fourth official in that match. In the eighth round, Uruguayan referee Andrés Matonte refereed Al Wasl vs. Ajman, and Spanish referee Jesús Manzano refereed the Al Ain vs. Al Jazira summit. In the ninth round, Slovak referee Ivan Kruzliak refereed Al Ain vs. Al-Qadsia, and South Korean referee Manyang refereed Al Wahda vs. Al Shabab. In the tenth round, Dutch referee Dani Mac refereed Al Nasr vs. Al Ain. In the eleventh round, Turkish referee Halil Amut refereed the Al Wasl vs. Al Wahda summit, Romanian referee Estefan Kovacs refereed Al Ain vs. Sharjah, and Brazilian referee Ramon Abati refereed Al Jazira vs. Al Ahli Youth. In the twelfth round, Brazilian referee Wilton Sambio refereed Al-Qadsia vs. Al Wasl, and Bosnian referee Irfan Belit refereed Al Dhafra vs. Al Ain. In the thirteenth and final round, French referee François Letexier refereed Al Wasl vs. Al Jazira, and French referee Clement Turban Louis refereed the Al Ain vs. Al Wahda summit. Abdulrahman Muhammad: Al Ain made the decision to hire a foreign referee after its match against Bataeh in the first round of the league.
