Egyptian international referee Mahmoud Ashour replaced the arbitration whistle with what they chanted the call and the company's logo that he raised and led the pilgrims on their journey to the holy sites.
Ashour al-Hakam, who is still a judge in the stadiums, turns into a leader during the Hajj season through his tourism company within the camps of the Mutawafa Foundation for pilgrims of Arab countries, as he entered the field of football as a player in the youth of Zamalek and Al-Ahly three decades ago, and he turned to the world of tourism by establishing a company focused on Hajj and Umrah. without neglecting arbitration. And about his ability to combine the two fields, he said to “Okaz”: I succeeded in combining, and worked as a mixture between administration and arbitration. On the field, I manage 22 players, and in Hajj, I manage a group of pilgrims under my responsibility.
Captain Ashour, who started working in the tourism field 16 years ago, explained that the groups of pilgrims led by about 320 pilgrims are in the distinguished area, especially since most of his pilgrims are stars of art, sports, and businessmen. He points out that arbitration created prestige for him among people, which made him more The ability to lead the pilgrims, and they carry out his instructions without reservation due to his strong personality. The Egyptian international referee admits that his work in the field of Hajj affected his leadership of the matches, especially since his work period coincides with the start of the referees’ preparations and training to lead the matches.
He stated that since the start of the Egyptian League on August 14, he has not led any match, although he has arbitration experience since 2007, while he won the international badge in 2011, but his preoccupation with Hajj reduced his leadership of international matches.
Ashour describes the development taking place in the holy sites as amazing, compared to his coming to Hajj for the first time 17 years ago: “The truth is that the development in the Jamarat is wonderful, as it is an integrated and great project, as the pilgrim now goes to stoning with ease without the presence of a stampede, in addition to transportation, where we previously used to go on buses.” 24 hours between Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina, and now everything is different.
Naeem Tamim Al-Hakim (Makkah Al-Mukarramah) @naeemtamimalahc
