Crisis in Egypt: Al Ahly Demands Postponement of Derby against Zamalek!

The 18th round of the Egyptian championship is facing a major crisis following the decision by Al Ahly's management, led by Mahmoud El-Khatib, to insist on the postponement of the 130th derby against their historical rivals, Zamalek. The Red Club demands the appointment of a foreign refereeing team to officiate the match. In a letter addressed to the Egyptian Football Association and the Professional Clubs League, Al Ahly clearly stated that they would only play this high-profile match with foreign arbitration present.

The official statement from Al Ahly:

The club's Board of Directors, during its emergency meeting held at 11 AM, reviewed the "chaos" evident in the football system in an unprecedented manner, as well as the lack of coordination between the Egyptian Football Association and the Professional Clubs League, which plunges clubs into recurring crises and conflicts.
The Board also discussed the situation of today's match and the choice of an Egyptian refereeing team, despite the club's official request to the League and the Federation to appoint foreign referees. This request follows inexplicable refereeing errors that have exceeded all limits and influenced match results, sometimes even affecting the title race.
On several occasions, the club has sent official correspondences to the Egyptian Federation, calling for a reform of the refereeing system, better management, and the appointment of a competent foreign expert at the head of the refereeing commission to rectify the situation. It also requested conditions and frameworks conducive to the success of this reform. Unfortunately, these requests have remained unanswered.

Even when a competent referee has been appointed, some individuals have attempted to "marginalize" him, leaving the refereeing system surrounded by many questions. Faced with these repeated crises and the insistence on refusing a foreign refereeing team for today's match, thus compromising sporting fairness, and to preserve the club's rights, the Board of Directors has decided as follows:

• Maintain the request to postpone the match until the Professional Clubs League, organizer of the competition, respects its decision to allow foreign refereeing for this encounter, to ensure fairness among competing clubs.
• If this requirement is not met, Al Ahly announces it will not continue its participation in the championship
• The Board of Directors remains in permanent session to monitor the situation's evolution.
  A contested refereeing appointment

Due to time constraints, according to its statement, the Egyptian Football Association's refereeing commission appointed local referee Mahmoud Bassiouni to officiate the match, which angered Al Ahly and led them to threaten to withdraw from the championship.

Severe penalties in case of official withdrawal of Al Ahly

The Egyptian Football Association's regulations provide for severe penalties against any club withdrawing from the championship. According to a report from the site ( FilGoal ), if Al Ahly were to formalize its withdrawal, it would face the following penalties:

• Relegation to the fourth division, the lowest level of competition.
• Ban from participating in the championship for two seasons.
• A financial fine of 20 million Egyptian pounds.
• Assumption of financial losses related to the disappearance of expected revenues from commercial contracts and broadcasting rights.

Read also: The new Al Ahly stadium design revealed, with a capacity of 42,000 spectators (Photos)

Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.