Egypt suspends referee for using spectator’s phone to review goal

An Egyptian referee, Mohamed Farouk, has been suspended indefinitely by the country’s FA, for allegedly disallowing a goal after looking at footage on a spectator’s phone, Daily Mail reports.

Mohamed Farouk took charge of an Egyptian Second Division clash between Al-Nasr and Suez on Friday and in the absence of VAR, relied on an alternative system to get a second look at a late goal.

With the hosts Suez 2-1 up heading into the final few minutes, Al-Nasr scored a dramatic equaliser to earn a point on the road.

However, after vociferous protests from home supporters, Farouk was invited to use a fan’s phone to watch a replay of the goal before ruling it out for handball to deny the visitors an away point at Suez on Friday.

Dailymail reports that as a result of his actions, Farouk has come in for hefty punishment, with the head of the Egyptian Referees Committee, Vitor Pereira, deciding to suspend the referee and his entire matchday staff for ‘an indefinite period’.

Pereira replaced former veteran Premier League official Mark Clattenburg in the role with the ERC earlier in March.

Pereira’s action was confirmed by the Egyptian FA, who added, “The committee decided to investigate the incident when Mohamed Farouk, the referee of the match, used a mobile phone to review footage of the match’s events.”