Egyptian Lawyer to Officiate South Korea vs. Czech Republic World Cup Match

The opening match for Hong Myung-bo's squad against the Czech Republic in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America will be officiated by a referee who is a lawyer by profession in Egypt.

FIFA announced the officiating crew for the South Korea-Czech Republic match today (June 9).

The South Korean national team will face the Czech Republic in their first Group A match of the World Cup on June 12 at 11:00 a.m. at Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico.

The match will be officiated by Egyptian referee Amin Mohamed Omar (40).

The assistant referees, Mahmoud Abouelregal and Ahmed Hossam Taha, are also from Egypt.

Juan Calderon from Costa Rica has been assigned as the fourth official.

According to Transfermarkt, a website specializing in football transfers and statistics, Omar's profession is a lawyer.

Omar has been a referee in the Egyptian Premier League since 2013 and earned his FIFA international referee license in 2017.

While this is his first World Cup, he has established himself as one of the referees trusted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), having participated in the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil and served as the head referee for the opening match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) held in Ivory Coast.

In April, the sports media outlet SportiAura introduced the referees participating in the North and Central America World Cup, describing Omar as someone who "makes systematic and accurate decisions, much like a lawyer."

Furthermore, the outlet highlighted his greatest strengths as "his positioning and his ability to intelligently apply the advantage rule," adding, "In a tournament featuring the most technically gifted teams in world football, his willingness to let the game flow rather than blowing the whistle for every contact will be a true asset."

(Photo: FIFA SNS, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.