Cairo: A feeling of guilt prompted a Saudi football referee to give up the profession around 25 years ago and volunteer to perform ritual pre-burial washing for the dead.
Ex-referee Hassan bin Abdul Rahman Al Beheiri recalls that while umpiring a local match between Saudi Arabia’s clubs Al Nassr and Al Ahli more than two decades ago, one footballer was violently tackled by the rival goalkeeper and sustained a fracture, but Al Beheiri then did not make a foul play decision against the offender.
His feeling of guilt prompted him to renounce refereeing for good and to devote himself for the pre-burial washing free of charge.
“After the game was over, I watched it on the video. I found out that I made a mistake and I was not fair to the tackled player. Therefore, I announced quitting refereeing on the same night, two hours after the end of the match,” he told Saudi TV Al Ekhbariya.
Aged 66 years now, Al Beheiri said he lives the best days of his life as a volunteer in washing the dead.
“I’ve entered the 25th year in this field. This is the best part of my life. Neither my childhood nor youth equals these 25 years. I didn’t get a single riyal for this. It’s all for free,” he said.
Al Beheiri is working as an assistant supervisor at a ritual washing facility attached to a mosque in Riyadh. His usually works from 7am till the sunset.
“You have to be patient and bring yourself under control. You deal with different people who are grief-stricken over their deceased,” he said of his voluntary work. “We don’t go on holiday. We do the job on all days including the feast holidays.” Born in Saudi Arabia’s central region of Al Qasim, Al Beheiri holds a university degree in literature and education majoring in physical education. He served as a referee for 17 years.
He said he hopes he will have a good end to his life.
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