Gehad Zaglol Grisha ( ar, جهاد زغلول جريشة; born 29 February 1976) is an Egyptian former football referee who refereed in the Egyptian Premier League from 2005 to 2021 and was a FIFA-listed referee from 2008 to 2021. He refereed at five consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournaments between 2012 and 2019, and also officiated at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Refereeing career

Grisha starting his officiating career in 2004 in the Egyptian Second Division before being promoted to the Egyptian Premier League in the next season. His first match in the top flight as a referee was on 28 November 2005 between

Ismaily Ismaily Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الإسماعيلي الرياضي) is an Egyptian professional football club, established on 20 March 1921 as El Nahda Sporting Club ( ar, جمعية نهضة الشباب المصري ) ( Egyptian pronunci ...

and Asyut Cement, which ended as a 4–0 win for Ismaily. Grisha showed only two

yellow cards Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

during that match. He made his international debut on 4 June 2009, officiating a match between France U-21 and Qatar U-20 at the 2009 Toulon Tournament. He made his CAF debut on 28 February 2010, appearing at the 2010 CAF Champions League preliminary round second leg match between Al Ahly Benghazi and Djoliba; a match that ended goalless. One year later, on 1 October 2011 at the 2011 CAF Champions League, Grisha officiated the semi-final first leg match between Wydad Casablanca and

Enyimba Aba is a city in the southeast of Nigeria and the commercial center of Abia State. Upon the creation of Abia state in 1991, Aba was divided into two local government areas namely; Aba South and Aba North. Aba south is the main city centre an ...

, which ended 1–0 for the Moroccan side. Grisha made his main international debut during the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, officiating a

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

match between Ivory Coast and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

as well as the

third place match A third place match, game for third place, bronze medal game or consolation game is a single match that is included in many sporting knockout tournaments to decide which competitor or team will be credited with finishing third and fourth. The tea ...

between

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

. He was also selected to officiate at the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

, appearing as a

fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (previously known as a linesman or lineswoman) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the L ...

in four matches and as main referee in one match. Following the tournament, Grisha became a member of the CAF Elite and was selected to appear at every Africa Cup of Nations tournament since 2013 alongside other CAF competitions. Grisha was selected to officiate the 2014 Egypt Cup Final on 19 July 2014 between

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...

and

Smouha Smouha ( ar, سموحة) is an upper class neighborhood in Alexandria, Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northea ...

at 30 June Stadium in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

. One red card and four yellow cards were shown during the match, which Zamalek won 1–0. Grisha served as a referee at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and officiated a match between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. Grisha was the first Egyptian referee to appear at the World Cup since 2006. On 14 August 2021, Grisha officiated his last Egyptian Premier League game, taking charge of a match involving

and league leaders

. One week later, Grisha took role of the

video assistant referee The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who reviews decisions made by the referee. The assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) is a current or former referee appointed to assist the VAR in the video ope ...

at the

2020 Arab Club Champions Cup Final The 2020 Arab Club Champions Cup Final was the final match of the 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup, the 29th season of the Arab League's main club football tournament organised by UAFA, and the 2nd season since it was renamed from the Arab Cl ...

in Morocco (which was postponed for more than one year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

) between Al Ittihad Jeddah of Saudi Arabia and Moroccan side

Raja Casablanca Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional footb ...

. The following day, on 22 August 2021, Grisha announced his retirement although being eligible for one more year.

Matches

''Any appearances made as a fourth official or in non-official competitions are not included.''

FIFA World Cup

Africa Cup of Nations

African Nations Championship

Personal life

Grisha works as an employee at a

petroleum company The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grisha, Gehad 1976 births Egyptian football referees Living people People from Dakahlia Governorate 2018 FIFA World Cup referees Football referees at the 2016 Summer Olympics