Footage shows the bizarre moment a referee uses video recorded on a fan’s PHONE to help disallow a late goal in a league match in Egypt… with no VAR present in second-tier games.
- A rare moment was caught on camera during a second-tier match in Turkey
- In a match between Suez SC and Al-Nasr, a controversial goal was conceded
- The referee then consulted fan footage to overturn his original decision on the field.
A referee ruled out a late goal after using a crowd member’s mobile phone to review an incident during a second division match in Egypt on Friday.
The bizarre moment went viral after many were taken aback by referee Mohamed Farouk’s decision to use a fan’s phone as a replacement for the video assistant referee (VAR).
The match, which was between Suez SC and Al-Nasr, created controversy in the 90th minute when Al-Nasr thought they had scored a late equaliser.
The Suez players were incredulous at the original decision on the pitch and suggested that one of the Al-Nasr players had been in an offside position.
Since VAR was not operated in the second tier games, referee Farouk had to use a crowd member’s phone to reach a conclusive decision on the matter.
The strange incident in Turkey was caught on camera by one of the spectators at the match.
Referee Mohamed Farouk used mobile phone footage to overturn his decision
Farouk had initially allowed a late Al-Nasr goal to stand, despite the scorer being offside.
The Suez SC players were initially stunned when Farouk decided to concede the goal
There were murmurs in the crowd as they anxiously awaited the official’s decision. After careful consideration, Farouk overturned his original call on the goal and disallowed it.
Fifteen minutes of injury time were added and Suez won the game 3-1.
The referee left the field of play under police protection, amid protests from Al-Nasr players and officials, who threatened to take legal action against the referee for violating the regulations.
reports of balad tv suggest that the match could be replayed, should the country’s Referee Committee decide that inappropriate action was taken.
The same outlet claims that the country’s League Association is still awaiting a report from the committee before making a final judgment on the matter.
What conclusion they will come to remains to be seen but, after labeling it a ‘catastrophic mistake’, the match can be expected to be repeated.
