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The General Secretary Southern Region Referees Committee Francisco Scova has urged the Flames of Malawi not to panic over the decision of FIFA to assign 29 year-old Hamada el Moussa Nampiandraza as centre referee for the crucial World Cup qualifier between the Super Eagles and the Flames of Malawi on September 7 in Calabar.
The Madagascan referee will officiate the game while his compatriots Velomanana Ferdinand Jinoro and Jean Thierry Djaonirina will be the assistant referees.
Flames of Malawi
The General Secretary Southern Region Referees Committee Francisco Scova has urged the Flames of Malawi not to panic over the decision of FIFA to assign 29 year-old Hamada el Moussa Nampiandraza as centre referee for the crucial World Cup qualifier between the Super Eagles and the Flames of Malawi on September 7 in Calabar.
The Madagascan referee will officiate the game while his compatriots Velomanana Ferdinand Jinoro and Jean Thierry Djaonirina will be the assistant referees.
Seth Jaovanona, also from Madagascar will be the fourth official while Abdul Hamid Radwan from Egypt will be the referees assessor. Patrick Beckles from Barbados will be security officer for the game while former Ghana international defender Anthony Baffoe will be the match commissioner.
Malawi need to win to qualify for the next round while the hosts just need a draw. Scova said it was an achievement for a 29-year-old to be given such a high profile game.
“I know many will say he is too young to handle such a game, but what matters is the competence. If they have given him such a game it means Fifa trusts him. And for him this should be no mean achievement,” he said.
On fears that he can end up giving in to pressure from the Nigerian fans Scova said referees are professionals and do not budge in such circumstances.
“It also happens here at home in high profile games like between Bullets and Wanderers. Supporters would want you to officiate based on what they want, but we just do our job based on laws of the game,” he said.
Earlier, the Malawian FA had expressed some reservations over the choice of the young referee for such a high profile game.
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