Match officials for the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 appointed

FIFA Referees Committee has announced the match officials who will officiate games during the forthcoming FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020, reported Qatar News Agency.

Seven referees and 12 assistant referees have been selected for the tournament, along with seven video match officials (VMOs) to operate the video assistant referee (VAR) system.

Three female officials will take part in the tournament: Brazilian referee Edina Alves Batista and assistant referees Neuza Back (Brazil) and Mariana De Almeida (Argentina).

The appointment of the female trio continues the path started at the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, where Swiss referee Esther Staubli officiated one game, followed by Uruguayan referee Claudia Umpierrez, who officiated two games at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019.

Qatari official Khamis Al Marri will be one of the VMOs, while three officials from the United Arab Emirates will participate in the tournament, including referee Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed and assistant referees Mohamed Al Hammadi and Hasan Al Mahri.

read also:Qatar To Host FIFA Club World Cup 2020 Across Three Venues

All the selected match officials will complete their final preparations in Qatar the week before the first match kicks off.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, FIFA and the host country will provide the required safeguards to protect the health and safety of all involved in the competition.

The draw to finalize the detailed pairings will take place in Zurich on Tuesday January 19 at 16:00 CET. The FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 will kick-off on Monday, February 1, 2021 and will culminate with the final at Education City Stadium on Thursday, February 11, 2021.