The Qatari official has been an international referee for FIFA and AFC since 2010. 

Qatar referee Khamis Al-Marri has been named one of the FIFA match officials for the upcoming Olympic Football Tournament in Paris 2024.

As an international referee for FIFA and AFC since 2010, Al-Marri will serve as a video match official during the Olympics.  

The FIFA Referees Committee named 89 match officials (21 referees, 42 assistant referees, 20 video match officials, and six support referees) from 45 countries to work games in the quadrennial event.

Joining Al-Marri in this historic moment, two Arab video match officials, Egypt’s Mahmoud Ashour, and Algeria’s Lahlou bin Ibrahim, will proudly represent their nations. 

The men’s football competition will kick off July 24, two days before the official opening of the multi-sport carnival, and wrap up August 9, the same day as the women’s football competitions, which begin July 25 and finish August 10.

A team of FIFA technical trainers, including referees and video assistant referee (VAR) instructors, match analysts, fitness coaches, physiotherapists, and sports scientists, will regularly and closely monitor the match officials’ preparation before and during the Olympic Games. 

FIFA expressed that referees in both the women’s and men’s tournaments will be supported by goal‑line technology and the VAR system, including semi‑automated offside technology.

Earlier this year, Al-Marri officiated at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 alongside six Qatari officials.

Abdullah Al-Athba, Abdulrahman Al-Jassim, Salman Falahi, and two assistant referees, Talib Al-Marri and Saud Ahmed all took part in the Qatar-hosted tournament.

The 2023 Asian Cup also witnessed the first appearance of women’s referees in the continental tournament, with the presence of 5 female officials, led by Japanese Yoshimi Yamashita, who had earlier participated in managing matches of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.