Zamalek give Egyptian FA 48 hours to respond to derby complaint

Zamalek have given the Egyptian Football Association 48 hours to provide a final response to their complaint over refereeing decisions in their 2-0 defeat by Al Ahly in the league derby.

The club’s board, led by chairman Hussein Labib, announced a series of measures following the match. FilGoal.com had previously reported that Zamalek were expected to take action on Tuesday after internal discussions about the events of the game.

Zamalek said their complaint had been submitted against the Egyptian FA’s main referees committee over what they described as serious errors that affected the club during the match. The club is now seeking a definitive response within the 48-hour deadline.

The club also said it would coordinate with the Egyptian FA to send a delegation to listen to the recordings from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) room during the derby. The delegation would seek to establish what took place inside the room and why VAR did not intervene in incidents that Zamalek believe influenced the match and its outcome.

Zamalek said it would also cite comments made by Essam Abdel-Fattah, chairman of the Egyptian FA’s main referees committee, during an interview with broadcaster Seif Zaher on ON Sport. The club noted that the laws governing football refereeing are the same throughout the world.

A further complaint will be made to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation. Zamalek want urgent action to be taken against whoever was responsible for allowing offensive chants directed at the club to be heard during the televised broadcast.

The club said this would help ensure compliance with media regulations and standards, while protecting sporting and social values.

“Zamalek will continue to defend the rights of its supporters so that refereeing errors against the club are not repeated,” the statement said. “The club has suffered greatly from such errors throughout its long history and has paid a heavy price as a result. It will not be acceptable for the situation to remain as it is, whatever the consequences, as Zamalek is committed to establishing the principle of justice across the Egyptian football system in general.”

Zamalek had already lodged an official complaint against the referees’ committee, the match director and Al Ahly supporters in connection with the derby.

Al Ahly’s victory, secured by two goals without reply in the sixth round of the league, was their 53rd against Zamalek in the Egyptian league. Zamalek have won 29 of the league meetings, while 51 have ended in draws.

The result was Al Ahly’s fourth successive derby victory against Zamalek in all competitions. Moataz Gamal has now failed to beat Al Ahly in either of his two matches as Zamalek manager, losing 3-0 last season and 2-0 this season. Hussein Ammouta, meanwhile, won his first derby as a manager.

The win moved Al Ahly temporarily top of the table on 16 points, while Zamalek suffered their first defeat and remained third on 13 points.

Zamalek travel to face Rwanda’s Army on Friday, 16 October, in the first leg of their CAF Champions League round-of-32 tie.