"Unusual" Referee Appointments in League's 22nd Round: Names Repeated Across Multiple Matches in Same Week

Referee appointments for the 22nd round of the Professional Football League have sparked debate among observers after the National Refereeing Directorate's list revealed that several officials were assigned to more than one match during the same round.

The appointments showed a repetition of several referees' names in the VAR room. Referee Nabil Benrquia was appointed as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for two matches: Club Meknassi vs. Olympique Dcheira, and Raja Club Athletic vs. RS Berkane. Similarly, Abdelhak El Moustaghfir was assigned as Assistant VAR for both of these encounters.

The list also featured Ahmed Adardour as VAR for the match between Renaissance Zemamra and Ittihad Yaacoub El Mansour, before being assigned the same role for the AS FAR vs. Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi game. Abdeladim Chaibi's name was also repeated as Assistant VAR for both fixtures.

Another notable instance included Yaken Bouazza, who was assigned as Assistant VAR for the Olympique Safi vs. Maghreb Fez match, and then again for the Ittihad Tanger vs. Wydad AC game.

These appointments raise questions regarding the reasons for repeatedly assigning the same officials to multiple matches within the same round, despite the broad base of nationally accredited referees. This comes amidst ongoing discussions about developing the refereeing system and expanding the utilization of available expertise.

The National Refereeing Directorate has not issued any clarifications regarding these appointments, which have reignited debate surrounding the method of distributing refereeing duties and the criteria for selecting officials tasked with managing matches and VAR technology.