Murad Al-Masry (Abu Dhabi)
Moroccan referee Bouchra Karboubi etched her name in the annals of football history, after she became the first Arab referee and the second African referee to officiate a match in the men's African Cup of Nations, when she officiated the confrontation in which Nigeria beat Guinea-Bissau 1-0, at the conclusion of the first group matches.
Karboubi, who is 35 years old, works as a police officer in Morocco, but she began practicing refereeing since her childhood, and gradually rose through the ranks of the different age groups, until she was able to become a referee certified by the Moroccan Football Federation in 2008, when she was 35 years old. At the age of 19, she continued her journey of ascension, which culminated in her obtaining the international badge in 2016, and participating in this continental event, and becoming the second African female referee currently to officiate a match in the continental finals, after Rwandan Salima Kasangana, who officiated during the previous edition of the African Championship, The decisive confrontation between the national teams of Guinea and Zimbabwe in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde, in the final round of the second group competitions.
Karboubi previously entered the history of Moroccan football in October 2020, when she officiated the match between Moghreb Tetouan and Olympique Khouribga in the final round of the Moroccan League, becoming the first female referee to officiate a match in the Moroccan League throughout its history.
She is also the first Moroccan female referee to lead a match in the Women’s World Cup, which was hosted by Australia and New Zealand last summer, and was officiated by the two Moroccan Fatiha Germoumi and Sakina Hamidi, the assistant referees.
This is not her first participation in the men's African Nations Finals, as she participated in the last edition in 2022, specifically in the “mouse” video crew in the final between Egypt and Senegal, before she now participates on the field, and takes charge of managing a confrontation herself.
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