Egyptian FA Suspends Referee Over Use Of Mobile Phone Instead Of VAR To Rule Offside

The Egyptian Football Association has suspended referee Mohamed Farouk indefinitely for using a mobile phone during a second-division match between Suez and Al-Nasr.

The incident occurred when Al-Nasr thought they had scored a late equalizer but the goal was disallowed due to a handball.

With the VAR system not in use in second-tier games, Farouk used a phone from a crowd member to watch a replay of the goal, leading to protests from the Al-Nasr players and officials.

The Referees Committee head, Vitor Pereira, decided to suspend the entire refereeing staff for an "indefinite period" and investigate the incident.

"The Committee decided to investigate the incident when Mohamed Farouk, the referee of the match, used a mobile phone to review one of the footage of the match's events," the Egyptian FA added.

Suez eventually won the game 3-1 after 15 minutes of stoppage time were added.

Farouk left the pitch under police protection amid threats of legal action from Al-Nasr.