Announcement of the candidates for officiating the Al Ahly vs Pyramids clash

The Egyptian Football Association's referees committee has begun its efforts to select an elite foreign officiating team to manage the anticipated clash between Al Ahly FC and Pyramids FC, scheduled to take place on November 23, as part of the ninth round of the Egyptian League.

These moves come in response to Al Ahly FC's request to employ a foreign crew to manage the match, with the club bearing the costs of bringing them in, similar to the recent summit clash against Zamalek SC, which was officiated by a Slovenian crew led by Rade Obrenovic.

Marciniak and Kovacs are at the top of the list of candidates.

Sources have revealed that the referees' committee has placed the names of Polish referee Simon Marciniak and Romanian referee Stefan Figueiredo Pereira at the top of its options, as they are among the elite referees in Europe, and it is seeking to reach an agreement with one of them to officiate the match.

The committee is awaiting the referees' positions regarding their assignments for the UEFA Champions League matches scheduled for November 24 and 25, before deciding on the possibility of using one of them in the Egyptian clash.

Sources have indicated that if an agreement cannot be reached with Marciniak or Kovač due to their commitments to European matches, the committee will consider the option of bringing in a refereeing crew from Portugal, provided that an elite referee is available and an agreement can be reached with him.

South American referees are among the alternative options.

The referees' committee is not limited to European names, as it is also considering the possibility of using a crew from South America if no agreement is reached with any of the proposed candidates.

The Brazilian Welton Sampaio has been included in the list, having officiated the opening match of the last edition of the FIFA World Cup 2026, alongside Venezuelan Jesús Valenzuela, who took charge of the third-place match in the same tournament.

The referees' committee is expected to finalize the identity of the foreign officiating team after the current international break, in preparation for completing the contracting procedures, travel arrangements, and flight bookings, ahead of the anticipated clash between Al Ahly FC and Pyramids FC.