The 5 Most Famous Arab Referees in the World Cup History

Arab referees have succeeded in imposing their names on the World Cup arena throughout history with many important and influential names.

The following report reviews the most important Arab referees who led matches in the history of the different editions of the World Cup.

Said Belqola

Said Belqola remains the most important name among all Arab referees in the World Cup after he succeeded in leading the final match of the 1998 World Cup in France.

Belqola managed the meeting of France, the host of the World Cup at the time, against defending champion Brazil, which ended with the victory of the "Rooster" 3-0 to announce the first French crown in the history of the World Cup

It is worth noting that Belqola died in 2002 after a long struggle with cancer.

Ali Bujsaim

Emirati Ali Bujsaim is considered one of the most famous Arab and Gulf football referees in the World Cup, as he managed 7 matches in different editions of the World Cup from 1994 to 2002.

Among the most famous matches that Ali Bujsaim refereed, was the Brazil-Netherlands match in the semi-finals of the France 1998 World Cup, which was decided by “Samba” on penalties after its end in a 1-1 draw.

In the 1994 World Cup, Bujsaim refereed two matches in the tournament hosted by America, the most important of which was the third-place meeting that ended with Sweden's 4-0 victory over Bulgaria.

Ali bin Nasser

Tunisian Ali bin Nasser is one of the most famous Arab referees in the history of the World Cup,  as he refereed the 1986 World Cup quarter-final match between Argentina and England.

History did not forget that Ibn Nasser awarded Diego Armando Maradona's first goal in the 51st minute after Argentina's historic captain scored the goal with his hand.

Maradona described the illegal goal he scored with his hand as "the hand of God", but the famous Tunisian referee confirmed that he did not watch the ball properly so he could not award the goal.

It should be noted that the confrontation between England and Argentina, which was decided by "Tango" 2-1, was the last in Bin Nasser's World Cup career.

Jamal Al-Ghandour

The Egyptian referee Gamal Al-Ghandour is considered one of the most famous Arab referees in the history of the World Cup because of his long history and distinguished numbers, as he refereed 6 matches in the World Cup during the 1998 and 2002 editions.

Among the most famous of these confrontations is Brazil's 3-2 victory over Denmark in the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup, and then the meeting of Spain and South Korea in the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup.

Jamal Al Sharif

The Syrian Jamal Al-Sharif is considered one of the most famous Arab referees in the World Cup, as he is the second most Arab referee to manage matches in the World Cup with 6 matches.

One of the most famous matches that Al Sharif refereed in the World Cup was Russia's 6-1 victory over Cameroon at the end of the group stage in the 1994 World Cup, which witnessed Russian Oleg Salenko score 5 goals.