Caution should be a watchword for the Rwandan and Nigerian players when they file out for a World Cup qualifying duel on Friday 21 March.
The Moroccan referee for the match, Jayed Jalal, is very assertive. He controls matches with an iron hand, bringing sanity to the game.
The 37-year-old could be recalled issuing a whopping 13 yellow cards in two of his last international engagements.
In Namibia’s scoreless draw with Cameroon in last November’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, he flashed the yellow card five times.
Before that, he had handled the Angola 2-1 win over Sudan where eight yellow cards were issued.
The Super Eagles should be accustomed to the referee for his stern control.
Jalal was the referee of the Ghana versus Nigeria friendly match at the Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, almost exactly to the forthcoming duel with Rwanda.
The Moroccan issued four yellow cards, two to each side and a straight red card to a Ghanaian, Jerome Opoku in the 56th minute.
In another match involving the Nigeria U-20 side with Senegal last year, February, Jalal issued four yellow cards, one of which was a second caution to Nigeria’s Ahmed Abdulahi leading to the player’s expulsion in the 90th minute of the match.
Jalal will travel to Kigali with fellow Moroccans, Mostapha Akarkad and Hamza Nassiri who will serve as first and second assistant referees respectively.
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