Refereeing panel rules out Al Ahly penalty and foul against defender in Smouha match

The Egyptian Football Association’s refereeing committee has confirmed that Al Ahly should not have been awarded a penalty against Smouha, while also ruling that defender Amr El Gazar did not commit a foul when challenging the Smouha attacker and winning the ball.

The committee published a video reviewing the most significant refereeing incidents from the third round of the Egyptian Premier League. It has announced that disputed decisions will be analysed after each round of the competition.

The review covered incidents involving Zamalek, Al Ahly, Smouha, Wadi Degla, El Qanah, Al Mokawloon Al Arab and El Gouna.

In the match involving Zamalek and Montakhab El Suez Petrojet, the committee said the referee was correct not to award a penalty to Zamalek forward Chico Banza. The panel also judged that the penalty given to Montakhab El Suez Petrojet against Zamalek was correct.

It added that the decision to order the penalty to be retaken was also right because the goalkeeper had moved from his position before the kick was taken.

Al Ahly incidents reviewed

The committee examined two incidents from Al Ahly’s match against Smouha.

It concluded that there was no foul by Amr El Gazar after his challenge on the Smouha attacker, stating that the Al Ahly defender had fairly intervened and taken the ball.

The panel also ruled that Al Ahly should not have been awarded a penalty for the incident involving Achraf Bencharki. The decision means both of the disputed calls involving Al Ahly in the match were deemed correct.

Decisions involving Wadi Degla and Al Mokawloon Al Arab

The penalty awarded to Wadi Degla against El Qanah was also considered correct. The refereeing committee said the spot-kick was justified because of negligence by an El Qanah player.

However, the panel found fault with another decision from the same match. It said the referee should have sent off the Wadi Degla player for a forceful challenge on an El Qanah player.

The committee reached a different conclusion in the meeting between Al Mokawloon Al Arab and El Gouna. It ruled that the penalty awarded to Al Mokawloon Al Arab was incorrect and that the referee should not have given it.

The video forms part of the refereeing committee’s process of assessing controversial incidents after every round of the Egyptian Premier League. Its latest review addressed penalty decisions, a retaken spot-kick, a potential foul, and a challenge that the panel believed warranted a red card.