Egypt's Omar to referee S. Korea-Czech Republic opener at 2026 World Cup

The referee for South Korea's opening match at the 2026 North America World Cup has been announced.

The South Korean national team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will face the Czech Republic in their group-stage opener at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico, at 11 a.m. Korean Standard Time on Friday.

FIFA announced the officiating crew for the match with just over three days to go. Egypt's Amin Omar will serve as the center referee, with fellow Egyptians Mahmoud Abou El-Rigal and Ahmed Hossam Taha as his assistants.

Costa Rica's Juan Calderon and Juan Carlos Mora will serve as the fourth official and reserve assistant referee, respectively. Egypt's Mahmoud Ashour has been assigned as the VAR referee, with American Joe Dickerson as the VAR assistant.

Omar has been active as a referee in the Egyptian Premier League since 2013 and earned his FIFA international badge in 2017. He has been selected as an official referee at the Africa Cup of Nations three times, but his only previous FIFA tournament experience was the 2019 U-17 World Cup — making this his first senior World Cup.

Across his eight matches at the Africa Cup of Nations and the U-17 World Cup, Omar averaged 20 fouls called per game, issued 24 yellow cards and showed three red cards. Two of those red cards came from accumulated bookings, suggesting he does not hesitate when a firm decision is required.

Omar tends to keep his whistle in his pocket, intervening only at key moments.

Sports outlet Sporti Aura described him as a referee who "allows minor contact, actively applies the advantage rule when the attacking team maintains a favorable position, and generally avoids breaking the tempo of the game."

Yellow card accumulation rules will apply through the group stage of this tournament. A player who receives two bookings in the group stage will be suspended for the following match. South Korea's players will need to stay disciplined from the outset — an unnecessary booking in the opener could weigh heavily on their minds heading into the remaining two group-stage games.

‘퇴근 넥타이부대 합세’ 저녁 밥까지 걸렀다…나흘 밤 넘는 올림픽공원 집회 [세상&]

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