Zaher insisted that Al-Sayed was a class-A referee but stressed that he was too hasty when he announced his resignation on a private Egyptian satellite channel.

Al-Sayed had announced his retirement through a phone call in a television show after he was blasted for decisions he took during the Ahli and Ismaili match in the premier league.

“Logical refereeing mistakes are expectable, while large-caliber mistakes that could affect the match are totally unacceptable,” EFA spokesman Medhat Shalabi said.

Shalabi revealed that the EFA were planning to hold workshops to elevate the referees’ skills and insisted that the attack on the Egyptian refereeing doesn’t really indicate that they are bad.

Zaher and Ghandour held lengthy meetings with a host of referees, who manage premier league matches, to listen to their complaints after they were criticized during the past period by the local media after several grave mistakes they committed.