Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — FIFA has officially approved the list of Saudi referees for 2025, comprising 21 referees and 3 female officials, according to the official website of the international football governing body.

The list includes eight referees: Mohammed Al-Huwaish, Faisal Al-Balawi, Shukri Al-Hanfoush, Mohammed Al-Smail, Abdullah Al-Shihri, Majed Al-Shamrani, Khalid Al-Turais, and Hiba Al-Owaidi.

Additionally, 10 assistant referees have been named: Mohammed Al-Abkari, Abdulrahim Al-Shammari, Ibrahim Al-Dakheel, Omar Al-Jammal, Faisal Al-Qahtani, Hisham Al-Rifai, Khalaf Al-Shammari, Saad Al-Subaie, Yasser Al-Sultan, and Iman Al-Madani.

The list also includes six video assistant referees (VAR): Mohammed Al-Huwaish, Sultan Al-Harbi, Mamdouh Al-Shahdan, Majed Al-Shamrani, Abdullah Al-Shihri, and Khalid Al-Turais.

In addition, Yahya Al-Othwani and Reem Al-Bishi have been named as futsal referees, while Hamed Al-Maliki has been selected as a beach soccer referee.

The President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), Yasser Al-Misehal, congratulated the FIFA-approved referees. He wished them success in their careers and expressing confidence that they will represent Saudi refereeing at the highest international level.

Al-Misehal praised the efforts of the SAFF’s Referees Committee in enhancing the performance of Saudi referees, describing them as a vital element of football.

He highlighted the significant progress made in building trust in Saudi referees on both the continental and international stages, thanks to their outstanding performances in numerous tournaments and international matches in recent years.