Taher Mohamed Taher reaches 29th Egyptian Premier League goal after VAR reversal

Taher Mohamed Taher reached 29 goals in the Egyptian Premier League after his strike against ZED was eventually awarded, despite initially being ruled out for offside during Al Ahly’s second-round meeting at Cairo Stadium.

Al Ahly faced ZED in the closing fixture of the second round, with the match taking place at Cairo Stadium.

Taher appeared to have doubled Al Ahly’s lead in the 61st minute when he converted from a cross by Achraf Bencharki. The assistant referee, however, ruled that the move had begun from an offside position and the goal was disallowed.

The incident remained under review after Al Ahly head coach Hussein Ammouta made a change, bringing on Moroccan forward Sufyan Benjdida in place of Taher.

Referee Mohamed Maarouf then waited for the decision from the video assistant referee. VAR confirmed that there had been no offside at the beginning of the move, meaning the goal should stand.

Maarouf overturned the initial decision and awarded Al Ahly’s second goal in the 65th minute. By that stage, Taher was no longer on the pitch and watched the outcome from the substitutes’ bench.

The goal took Taher’s Egyptian Premier League total to 29 in 196 appearances. It also continued a notable run for the forward, who has scored in the competition in each of the past 10 seasons.

Taher has achieved that sequence while representing both Al Ahly and his former club Arab Contractors. His latest strike also gave him a second league goal against ZED.

The goal was initially denied on the field but restored after the VAR review, allowing Taher to add another milestone to his Egyptian Premier League record even though he had already been replaced by the time the final decision was made.

Al Ahly’s meeting with ZED was therefore marked by both the attacking contribution from Taher and the intervention of the video review system. The original offside call was changed after the referee received confirmation that the build-up had been legal.

Taher’s 29 league goals have come across nearly 200 appearances, while his latest effort extended his scoring run across a 10th successive season in the competition. It was also his second goal against ZED in the Egyptian Premier League.

The late confirmation ensured that the effort from Bencharki’s cross counted officially, despite the initial decision to cancel it and the substitution that had removed Taher from the game before the review was completed.