Qatar, November 30 (QNA) - The FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 referees preparation course concluded Sunday.

The five-day course was held under the supervision of Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee Pierluigi Collina, Deputy Chairman Hani Taleb Ballan, and Director of the Refereeing Department Massimo Busacca, with the participation of 54 referees (14 main referees, 28 assistant referees, and 12 video assistant referees).

During the course, the focus was on the technical and physical aspects of the referees, in addition to discussing the key refereeing cases, applications of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, and training on the new decision that will be applied in the tournament, which is to remove the injured player for two minutes for treatment, with the exception of the goalkeeper and cases in which the opposing player in the game receives a yellow or red card.

In his address to the referees, Collina stressed the importance of the referees being ready for the tournament matches, praising the outstanding Qatari organization and the great care taken to prepare refereeing personnel at the highest level.

For his part, Hani Balan expressed his pride in hosting the tournament, stressing that refereeing will be one of the elements of success in the Arab Cup, thanks to the close cooperation with FIFA and the efforts made in developing referees.

Massimo Busacca also praised the seriousness and discipline during the theoretical and practical workshops, considering the course an important step towards unifying refereeing decisions during the tournament competitions. (QNA)