Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Moscow: Bahrain's Nawaf Abdulla Shukralla was tasked with refereeing the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group H tie between Poland and Senegal at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow on Tuesday.
Shukralla, making his second appearance at the World Cup, was assisted by compatriot Yaser Khalil Abdulla Tulefat with Taleb Al Marri and fourth official Abdulrahman Al Jassim, both from Qatar, alongside United Arab Emirates' Mohamed Alhammadi, who was the fifth official.
Senegal defeated Poland 2-1, a result which augurs well for Asia's Japan, who had earlier defeated Colombia by the same scoreline.
Shukralla arrived on the refereeing scene in 1997 and has been officiating FIFA matches since 2008. In 2011, he was selected to officiate at the FIFA U-17 World Cup where he oversaw the high-profile Round of 16 tie between England and Argentina.
Since then, the Bahraini’s career has witnessed a meteoric rise, after being selected to officiate at the FIFA Club World Cup 2012, FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifiers and on the ultimate stage - the FIFA World Cup 2014.
In Brazil, the 41-year-old oversaw the match between Spain and Australia and also officiated Portugal’s crunch match against Ghana a few days later, alongside compatriots Yaser Tulefat and Ebrahim Sabt, the former who will also be making his second FIFA World Cup appearance in Russia 2018.
Photo: FIFA via Getty Images