Official statement: the Egyptian Football Association reveals details of the exchange between Mohamed Marouf and Wael Gomaa in the Al-Ahly and Zed match | Goal.com

Published on 31 Aug 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

The Egyptian Football Association has issued an official statement to settle the controversy over a contentious incident in the recent match between Al Ahly and Zed in the Egyptian league.

Reports had claimed that referee Mohamed Marouf told Wael Gomaa, Al Ahly's football director, that Ali Mahmoud had to be substituted because he could not protect him from a sending-off.

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The Egyptian FA said in its statement today: "The main referees' committee of the Egyptian Football Association followed what has been circulated over the past hours regarding the incident involving referee Mohamed Marouf and Wael Gomaa, Al Ahly's football director, during the match between Al Ahly and Zed, and the allegations raised concerning the player Ali Mahmoud."

It continued: "The referees' committee confirms that it held a meeting to discuss the incident, and listened in full to the recordings from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology room, to establish the truth of what took place during the incident."

The statement went on: "After reviewing and listening to the recordings, it was not established to the referees' committee that referee Mohamed Marouf had spoken to Wael Gomaa about the player Ali Mahmoud, but rather the discussion was about Al Ahly claiming a foul, which the football director (Wael Gomaa) contested, and referee Mohamed Marouf's response was that there was no foul and that it had been reviewed by the VAR referee. There is nothing in the conversation at all about the referee being asked to substitute the player to protect him, as was raised in the media."

Turning to the media handling of the affair, the association added: "The referees' committee extends its sincere thanks to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation for summoning the channel's legal representative to a hearing over this violation, and the committee commends the council's proactive decision, which reflects its keenness to regulate the media landscape and preserve professional values, affirming that the committee had been about to resort to the council to take the necessary action regarding the incident, but the decision came quickly, which the committee values and commends."

It noted: "The committee affirms its complete commitment to dealing with all incidents and observations related to refereeing with full transparency and objectivity, while adhering to verifying the facts before issuing any judgements or circulating inaccurate information."

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The statement concluded: "The referees' committee urges all elements of the sporting system, the media and the fans to support Egyptian refereeing, and to be careful not to be swept along by rumours and unverified news, given their negative impact on the Egyptian football system."

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