March 6, 2017 By Sahr Morris jnr
Algerian referee, Mehdi Abid Charef, will be the man in the middle when the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) FC would battle against Tunisian Club Africain in the first round of 2017 Total CAF Confederations Cup.
The two sides will go face-to-face on Sunday, March 12, 2017 at the Stade Olympique de Radès in Tunis for the first leg encounter before the Sierra Leonean team host the return leg in Freetown the following weekend.
Mehdi Abid Charef will be assisted by Abdelhak Etchiali as his AR 1, while Abbes Akram Zerhouni will be the AR2.
The 36-year-old has been a FIFA referee since 2011; he also took charge of the CAF Under-20 Championship finals between Ghana and Egypt in 2013 and also handled the Group B clash between Gabon and DR Congo match which ended 0-0.
Abid Charef also handled Nigeria’s 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifier against the Taifa Stars of Tanzania and in May, 2016, the Confederation of African Football also appointed him as the central referee for Ghana’s Medeama FC Confederation Cup decider against South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns.
The experienced official also took charge of the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifier match between the Uganda Cranes and Congo Brazzaville in November, 2016 and was supported by Adelhak Etchiali and Mokraine Gourani as the first and second assistants.
Charef was also part of the officiating team at the Gabon 2017 Nations Cup and he whistled the all West African clash between Ghana and Mali.