Being chosen to referee in the World Cup is an honor and a historic moment in my life

International football referee Omar Al Ali revealed that he received the news that his whistle was selected by FIFA to lead the Emirati refereeing team that will be present in the 2026 World Cup, before leading the match between Al Wahda and Kalba, which was held today, Thursday, in the 22nd round of the ADNOC Professional League, which ended in a 2-2 draw. He stressed his great happiness in representing the Emirati referee in the largest football event in the world alongside his fellow international assistant referee, Mohammed Ahmed Youssef, and video referee, Mohammed Obaid Khadem.

He told Emirates Today: “Being chosen to referee in the World Cup is an honor for me and a historic moment in my life.”
He added, “For me, I aspire to follow in the footsteps of former World Cup referee Ali Bujasim, and former World Cup referees Issa Darwish, Saleh Al Marzouqi, and Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, and his assistant staff, which included assistant referees Mohammed Ahmed and Hassan Al Mahri.”

He considered that this choice indicates that Emirati refereeing is always fine and able to be present in the World Cup after the start of the journey in this event by former World Cup referee Ali Bujasim until now.

He continued, “I received this good news before the Al-Wahda and Kalba match, which I officiated, and the First Vice President of the Football Association, President of the Professional League, Abdullah Nasser Al-Junaibi, the Secretary-General of the Football Association, Muhammad Hazzam Al-Dhaheri, and Vice-Chairman of the Referees Committee of the Football Association, Hamad Ahmed Al-Mazrouei, contacted me to offer congratulations on this occasion.”
Al Ali pledged that he and the Emirati arbitration crew would give everything they had to honorably represent Emirati arbitration in this event.