The retired Moroccan international referee, Bouchra Karrboubi, reignited wide controversy after posting a mysterious note on her official Instagram account yesterday, following a communication meeting organized by the National Technical Directorate of Refereeing at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé.
This meeting, attended by representatives from national and international media, saw the resurfacing of disputes between Bouchra Karrboubi and refereeing officials.
The post included a picture accompanied by phrases carrying strong messages, stating: “I ask God, just as you oppressed me, to oppress you; and as you have made life difficult for me, may God make it difficult for you in this world and the hereafter.”
These words brought renewed focus to the ongoing tension between Karrboubi and the Technical Directorate of Refereeing.
This development comes a few months after Bouchra Karrboubi announced her final retirement from refereeing, ending a prolific career spanning twenty-five years, during which she represented Moroccan refereeing in numerous continental and international forums.
This was not the first controversy of its kind; in November 2025, the Moroccan referee had sent a sharply worded message to the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, expressing concerns about “practices” by the director and some members of the National Technical Directorate of Refereeing.
Karrboubi considered these practices to have “disrupted management and disturbed past and expected achievements.”
Karrboubi’s retirement decision at that time coincided with her exclusion from managing professional league matches, as well as her absence from the list of referees participating in the Under-20 World Cup finals in Chile.
Bouchra Karrboubi is considered one of the prominent names in Moroccan refereeing who left a clear mark on the African refereeing scene, having been honored in 2024 with the Best African Referee Award in recognition of her participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, the CAF Champions League, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as well as the Women’s World Cup in Australia.
