The Peninsula
Abdulrahman Al Jassim made his FIFA World Cup debut in Russia 2018 as a video match official. Four years later, the seasoned Qatari official is set to enter the pitch as a referee at the home World Cup, which begins on November 20.
The 35-year-old is one of the 36 referees, who will officiate at the tournament along with 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials.
Al Jassim is the only referee among four Qatari match officials, who were appointed by FIFA for the World Cup earlier this year. These officials include assistant referees Taleb Al Marri and Saoud Ahmed Al Maqaleh; and Abdulla Al Marri, who will serve as video match officials.
For Al Jassim, who started his career in 2007 and rose through the ranks in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since then, Qatar 2022 will be a special assignment.
“I am very happy to represent the AFC and Qatar and to be one of the referees in Qatar 2022. This appointment will be a responsibility for me to have good performance,” Al Jassim, who became a FIFA referee in 2013, told the AFC website.
Al Jassim said he had gone through a lot of preparation and is ready for the World Cup challenge, praising the AFC and Qatar Football Association (QFA) for their support.
“My preparation started when I heard about my appointment. I stayed with Qatar Football Association and AFC. They put for me, a plan to be ready for the World Cup 2022. The reference department, did everything [to prepare me] and started the development courses,” he said.
A total of 19 AFC match officials - an additional three from the last edition - were selected by FIFA for the upcoming World Cup.
Praising AFC’s educational programmes, Al Jassim said AFC referees deserved to be in the World Cup finals.
“If you remember 2018, our referees officiated the quarter-final and third-fourth place [play-off]. That means our referees deserve to be in Qatar 2022,” he said.
Dubbed one of the finest match officials in Asia, Al Jassim will take a rich experience to the World Cup.
Apart from being part of Russia 2018, the Qatari referee has officiated in the AFC Champions League 2020 final, FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 final as well as the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals.
He was also part of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 and took charge of the AFC Cup final in 2018. Additionally, Al Jassim was in charge of AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar matches since 2021.