ZED FC complaint over Al Ahly match delayed by referees’ remote working

The Egyptian Football Association’s refereeing committee will wait until Monday before responding to ZED FC’s complaint about decisions made during their Egyptian Premier League defeat by Al Ahly, chairman Essam Abdel Fattah said.

ZED FC announced that it had submitted a formal complaint against referee Mohamed Maarouf following Friday’s match, which Al Ahly won 2-0 in the second round of the league season.

Abdel Fattah said the committee had been unable to meet at the Egyptian Football Association’s headquarters on Sunday because staff were working remotely.

“The refereeing committee was not present at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association today because of the remote working system on Sunday,” Abdel Fattah told FilGoal.com.

“On Monday, we will take a strong stance against what has been raised about refereeing in recent hours,” he added.

The committee will listen to the match recordings before deciding how to respond to the concerns surrounding the game, Abdel Fattah said.

Penalty appeal disputed

ZED FC players appealed for a penalty during the match after an incident involving Al Ahly player Achraf Bencharki. However, Mohamed Maarouf allowed play to continue, indicating that he had not judged there to have been a deliberate handball by the Al Ahly forward.

In its statement, ZED FC said it fully respected every part of the Egyptian football system, particularly the country’s refereeing structure.

“ZED FC affirms its complete respect for the Egyptian football system in all its elements and components, foremost among them the Egyptian refereeing system, for which we have the utmost appreciation. We also affirm our complete confidence in Egyptian referees and their ability to manage matches with integrity and professionalism,” the club said.

At the same time, the club said it was renewing its strong objection to several influential refereeing decisions during its match against Al Ahly, which it believed had significantly affected both the course of the game and the final result.

The club stressed that its complaint was part of its right to express its position on decisions it believed had substantially influenced the match. It added that this did not diminish its respect for the officials, the Egyptian refereeing system or any other part of the country’s football structure.

“ZED FC confirms that it will remain committed in all its positions to sporting spirit and professionalism, and to respecting all clubs, players, technical staff, referees and every element of the game,” the statement continued.

“At the same time, we maintain our full right to object and demand the highest standards of justice and impartiality, in a way that protects the rights of all clubs and strengthens the credibility of the competition. This is what we were keen to document and send officially to the Egyptian Football Association through its official channels, so that it can act on it.”

The refereeing committee previously released a video covering a decision from the opening round of the league season. That incident involved Al Ahly being awarded a penalty against Eastern Company.

Abdel Fattah has been chairman of the Egyptian refereeing committee since the beginning of the current season. He replaced Colombian former referee Oscar Ruiz in the role.