Ben Harburg, president of Al-Kholoud Club, raised a thorny issue in Saudi sports circles, demanding radical changes to the refereeing system in the Roshan Professional League, by using an independent and internationally recognized body to evaluate the performance of all league referees, in a step aimed at raising the quality of competition to keep pace with the tremendous development that Saudi football is witnessing.
In detailing his bold proposal, Harburg recommended the exclusion of referees who fail to meet strict international standards and their replacement with an elite group of international referees, proposing a financial mechanism based on clubs bearing the costs of foreign refereeing teams in proportion to the size of their annual budgets, to ensure financial fairness.
The paradox of spending and product quality
On his official X platform account, the president of Al-Kholoud posed a fundamental question reflecting the current state of the league, asking: “How can a league spend such vast sums of money attracting international stars, yet offer a product of lower quality and less competitiveness?” He indicated that the answer clearly lies in the level of refereeing, citing the frequent protests witnessed this season, which raise increasing concerns about the future of fair officiating.
These statements come at a time when the Saudi Professional League is undergoing a historic transformation as part of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, having become a focus of global attention after attracting football legends. However, the gap between the high technical level of the players and the refereeing performance poses a challenge to the league's ambition to be among the top five leagues in the world, as refereeing is considered a fundamental pillar for the success of any global sporting project.
The absence of Saudi rule and the real-time crisis
Harburg based his criticism on statistical facts and international indicators, pointing out that the absence of any Saudi referees from the last World Cup and the suspension of periodic referee evaluation reports are negative indicators that cannot be ignored. He revealed that his team suffered from refereeing interventions that altered the course of matches in six of Al-Kholoud's losses this season, arguing that referees impose their will on the game, thus ruining the enjoyment of watching.
To illustrate the weakness of match management, he cited a recent match between Al-Ahli and Al-Akhdoud, where actual playing time (the ball was on the field) amounted to only 45 minutes out of a total of 104 minutes, equivalent to just 43%. This figure is significantly lower than the global average in major leagues, which reaches 60%. The issue of "actual playing time" is one of the most prominent topics that FIFA has recently focused on to increase the game's appeal.
Ben Harburg concluded his post by opening the floor to discussion with fans and experts, warning that “if no changes are made, the public will continue to be deprived of an enjoyable football experience, and players and clubs will not have a fair competition.” It's worth noting that Al-Kholoud is struggling in the standings, currently sitting in thirteenth place with 12 points, accumulated from 4 wins and 11 draws, making every point lost a significant factor in their league campaign.
