Mutaz Ibrahim

Last updated

Mutaz Ibrahim
Full name Mutaz Ibrahim
Born (1990-03-07) 7 March 1990 (age 35) [1]
Libya
Domestic
YearsLeagueRole
??–present Libyan Premier League Referee
International
YearsLeagueRole
2019–present FIFA Referee
??–present CAF Referee

Mutaz Ibrahim [2] (born 7 March 1990 [1] ) is a Libyan football referee, who has been a FIFA-listed international referee since 2019. [2]

Career

At club level, Ibrahim oversaw the 2023 CAF Champions League final first leg between Al Ahly SC (Egypt) and Wydad AC (Morocco) in Cairo. [3] Ibrahim refereed the 2024 CAF Super Cup in September 2024, at the Kingdom Arena, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. [4] The game was played between Egyptian teams Al Ahly SC and Zamalek SC, with a Zamalek victory on penalties. [5]

In national team competitions, Ibrahim was selected as Libya's representative for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, where he refereed two group-stage matches: Group E's France v. South Korea, [6] and the Group F's victory of Venezuela over New Zealand. [7]

The next year, Ibrahim was chosen for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, where he oversaw four matches: two group-stage ones, [8] one round-of-16 match (Mali v. Burkina Faso), [9] and a semifinal between the locals and DR Congo. [10] [11] In 2023, Ibrahim led matches at the African Nations Championship in Algeria. [12]

Other international tournaments for Ibrahim were the 2021 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Mauritania [13] and games of the CAF qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. [14]

In 2024, Ibrahim was chosen as CAF Men's Referee of the Year. [15]

Among his most recent tournaments was the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, serving as a reserve referee. [16] [17] He served as VAR official at the Group C match between Bayern Munich and Auckland City FC (which ended 10–0 for the Germans), [18] and at the Group H game between Mexican team Pachuca and Austrians Red Bull Salzburg, ended in a victory 2–1 for the Europeans. [19]

References

  1. 1 2 Ortega Flores, Jonathan (12 July 2025). "¿Quién es Mutaz Ibrahim, árbitro libanés del Mundial de Clubes FIFA 2025?". DAZN (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Member Associations | Libyan Football Federation". Inside FIFA. 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  3. "Libyan Referee to Officiate CAF Champions League Final". Libya Review. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  4. Ehab, Yassin (24 September 2024). "Zamalek express concern over CAF Super Cup referee". KingFut. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  5. "Zamalek v Al Ahly: Heartbreak for Palestine's Abou Ali in CAF Super Cup". The National . 28 September 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  6. "Francia derrotó en casa 1-0 a Rep. de Corea". TyC Sports (in Spanish). 15 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  7. "Venezuela le pasó por encima a Nueva Zelanda con doblete de Leenhan Romero". Infobae (in Spanish). 11 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  8. "Libyan referee Mutaz Ibrahim appointed to officiate Ghana's clash against Mozambique on Monday". The Ghana Report. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  9. Stevens, Rob (30 January 2024). "Afcon 2023: Mali 2-1 Burkina Faso - Sinayoko sends Eagles into quarter-finals". BBC Sports. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  10. Touré, Moumar (8 February 2024). ""A thief" … Congolese fans attack the referee of the semi-final!". Afrique Sports. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  11. "Ivory Coast beat DR Congo to set up revenge final wit Nigeria". BBC News (in Nigerian Pidgin). 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  12. "CHAN 2022: Libyan referee Mutaz Ibrahim to handle Ghana clash with Madagascar". Ghana Soccer Net. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  13. Yah Kwafo, Eric Nana (17 February 2021). "U-20 AFCON: Mauritania referee Abdelaziz appointed to handle Ghana's clash against Morocco". ModernGhana . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  14. "2025 Eliminatorias de África, Fase de grupos". ESPN (in Spanish). 6 June 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  15. "Lookman, Banda and Williams are big winners at 2024 CAF Awards in Marrakech, Morocco". CAF News. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  16. Buckingham, Philip (3 June 2025). "Club World Cup and referees: Explaining the new goalkeeping rule, 'Ref Cam' and advanced VAR" . The New York Times . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  17. "12 African referees picked for Club World Cup". APA News. 15 April 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  18. "Goleada masiva del Bayern Múnich al Auckland City, en el grupo de Boca por el Mundial de Clubes". TyC Sports (in Spanish). 21 June 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  19. "Pachuca Pachuca 1-2 Red Bull Salzburg". BBC Sports. 18 June 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.