Ceramica Cleopatra’s general supervisor of football, Moataz El-Batrawy, has expressed surprise over the scheduling of his side’s Egypt Cup clash against Zamalek, revealing that the club will formally write to the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to confirm that the match will be played behind closed doors.
Zamalek are set to host Ceramica Cleopatra on Tuesday, February 17, in the Round of 16 of the Egypt Cup.
Speaking on On Sport 2, El-Batrawy said the fixture date came as an unexpected development, as it coincided with the team’s training camp ahead of their league encounter with Ghazl El-Mahalla.
“We were surprised by the scheduling of the Zamalek match in the Egypt Cup during our camp for the Ghazl El-Mahalla game, especially since our plans were based on facing Pyramids on February 20 as our next fixture after that,” he explained.
El-Batrawy noted that while Ceramica Cleopatra are not overly affected by fixture congestion, the short turnaround between two demanding matches poses a significant challenge.
“We don’t have a real issue with playing on February 17, particularly as we are not under the same pressure as teams competing every three days. The difficulty is playing Zamalek and then Pyramids within a period of no more than three days. Still, we cannot object to the timing of the Zamalek match,” he added.
He concluded by stressing the club’s stance on fan attendance, insisting that the Cup tie should be played without spectators.
“The only point we are holding on to is that the match will be played without fans, as stated in the letter we received. We will officially contact the Football Association to confirm that the Round of 16 match against Zamalek will indeed be held behind closed doors,” El-Batrawy said.
