Former international football referee, Yaqoob Al-Hammadi, has called for assigning major and important matches in local competitions, such as the upcoming summit match between Al-Ain and Shabab Al-Ahli, scheduled at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in the 22nd round of the Professional League, to international referee Omar Al-Ali. He believes that such big matches could boost his chances of being selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as he is on FIFA's list of referees shortlisted to officiate the world's biggest football event. Al-Hammadi pointed out that local refereeing has been absent from managing major matches in local competitions, which have become the exclusive domain of foreign referees, whereas a local referee is in dire need of managing such matches as it showcases his refereeing capabilities and gives him great confidence. FIFA is preparing to announce the final list of referees shortlisted to officiate the upcoming World Cup. Al-Hammadi told "Al-Ittihad Al-Youm": "Assigning big matches, for example, the upcoming summit match between Al-Ain and Shabab Al-Ahli in the UAE to referee Omar Al-Ali, sends a message to the sports community and refereeing officials in FIFA that this referee is capable of managing big matches in the UAE, and therefore capable of managing matches in the World Cup." The summit match between Al-Ain and Shabab Al-Ahli in the 22nd round of the league is one of the most important matches that could decide the fate of the league title, for which the two teams are currently competing, leading the competition's standings. Omar Al-Ali participated in the FIFA-conducted course for referees shortlisted for the World Cup, held in Doha from February 23-27 last year. The list of shortlisted referees from Asia, in addition to Omar Al-Ali, included: Qataris Abdulrahman Al-Jassim and Salman Falahah, Omani Ahmed Al-Kaf, Japanese Yusuke Araki, Saudi Khaled Al-Turayisi, Australian Ali Reza Faghani, Uzbek Elygiz Tatashev, Jordanian Adham Mahdama, and Chinese Ma Ning. Sports circles are eagerly awaiting the International Federation of Football Association's announcement of the final list of referees who will officiate the matches of the next World Cup. Al-Hammadi added: "For me, as a former international referee, I wish to honor the local referee by entrusting him with the finals of local competitions, whether it's the President's Cup, the Super Cup, or the Professional League Cup (ADCB Bank Cup), and I wish that local derbies are assigned to a national referee." Al-Hammadi reiterated that relying on foreign referees to manage local competitions has greatly impacted the development of local refereeing and the emergence of new national referees. He noted that his generation of referees competed to officiate the week's top match in the UAE, which garnered significant media attention, whereas the current generation of referees understands that these matches are often assigned to a foreign referee. He stressed that this led to a lack of competition among local referees to manage big matches as used to happen. Al-Hammadi continued: "The excellence of a national referee is shown through derbies, so assigning these matches to a local referee gives him the confidence to exist in external tournaments." He questioned: "If the local referee is deprived of the confidence to manage big matches locally, how will he be trusted in external tournaments?" Al-Hammadi considered that the refereeing scene has recently witnessed a lack of refereeing passion among national referees. He confirmed that he wishes to revive the award for Best National Referee, which was given at the end of every season, as its return would represent a greater motivation and incentive for referees to excel, pointing out that just as clubs compete for the league title, match officials also compete to win the Best Referee award at the end of each season.
