Moroccan Referee Redouane Jiyed to Officiate in Qatar World Cup

FIFA, world football's governing body, has picked eight Africans, including Morocco’s Redouane Jiyed, among the referees who will officiate in games at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, according to Vanguard journal.

Rabat – FIFA, world football’s governing body, has picked eight Africans, including Morocco’s Redouane Jiyed, among the referees who will officiate in games at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, according to Vanguard journal.

Seven of the eight African officials were part of the ten referees who officiated in the 2022 World Cup African Playoffs last month.

In addition to Morocco’s Redouane Jiyed, the list of the chosen African referees includes Algeria’s Mustapha Ghorbal, Senegal’s Maguette N’diaye, DR Congo’s Jean Jacques Ndala, Zambia’s Janny Sikazwe, South Africa’s Victor Gomez, Ethiopia’s Tessema Balmak, and Gambia’s Papa Bakary Gassama.

Redouane Jiyed, aged 42, was born and raised in Agadir, south-western Morocco. He has officiated in several national and international football matches.

His latest international appearance was in the play-off match for the third place at the Africa Cup of Nations on Feb 5, 2022, between Burkina Faso and Cameroon.

With 66 international matches under his belt, Jiyed’s record includes a total of 27 penalties and 204 fouls. He also delivered 262 yellow cards and 11 red ones, according to the World Referee database.

Morocco qualified for the Qatar 2022 World Cup on Tuesday, March 29, after defeating DR Congo 4-1.

Five African countries (Ghana, Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal) will represent the continent at the Qatar 2022 World Cup that starts on November 21 and concludes on December 18.