African referee: I was subject to witchcraft

An African referee has admitted to being "subject to witchcraft" for three years, explaining the impact it had on his life as well as his career. 

Ibrahim Noureddine is an international referee who predominantly takes charge of games in the Egyptian Premier League. However, for a certain time in his career, he revealed that he had been officiating matches while being under the influence of black magic. 

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The referee, however, admitted that contrary to what usually happens when someone is struck by the mischievous mannerisms of witchcraft, he ended up being positively affected by it. 

"I was subjected to witchcraft for many periods, and I thank whoever did that because it helped me get closer to God and I committed myself to performing Umrah [Islamic pilgrimage], and I became more committed," Noureddine revealed on Egyptian television channel Sada El Balad per Yallakora.

"At some points, I felt that I was not normal. There were unnatural things. All of Egypt loved me, and then suddenly there was hatred against me.

"In the analysis studios, they would leave the match and talk about me and criticize me, even if my decisions were not wrong on the field.

"This condition and being affected by magic continued for 3 years, and during the past two months I woke up and felt a difference and became better because of reading the Qur'an [religious Islamic text]."

The official also opened up on when he refereed an international friendly between United Arab Emirates and Argentina in November 2022, prior to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, saying that he was cherry-picked for the occasion and adding that the picture he took with Lionel Messi is one of his most prized possessions. 

"There were some refereeing officials inside Egypt who were not happy that I would referee this match, and they felt very sad and it was the UAE Federation that chose me by name," Noureddine said. 

"My photo with Messi is equivalent to participating in 2 or 3 World Cups, and throughout the World Cup, people were talking about me and Messi.

"This photo was a form of propaganda for me and made my name bigger and bigger."

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