Enppi Club President Ayman El-Sharaii expressed his astonishment at the report by Mahmoud Naji, the referee of the Al Ahly vs. Sharqia Enppi match, regarding head coach Mohamed Barakat.
Al Ahly defeated Enppi 3-2 in their opening match of the Egyptian Premier League.
Barakat was sent off in stoppage time, and Mahmoud Naji noted in his report that the red card was issued due to unsporting behavior.
Speaking on On Sport FM, Ayman El-Sharaii said: “I congratulate Essam El-Fattah on his appointment as head of the referees committee. I am one of the club presidents who has always and will always support Egyptian referees, even if we are treated unjustly, and even if it costs us defeats, as happened to us yesterday against Al Ahly.”
He continued, “The decision to award the penalty to Al Ahly was indeed made, and there are differing opinions. I always act in good faith, especially since the referee awarded the penalty and the video technology did not summon him for a review.”
El-Sharaii revealed, “I have a bigger issue than the Al Ahly penalty, which is the red card for head coach Mohamed Barakat based on a strange report from the match referee. During a conversation with Mahmoud Naji about an incident in stoppage time, Barakat told the assistant referee, ‘You do not understand the law.’”
He added, “There are 10 amendments in the new refereeing law, and there are always controversial cases when any new law is introduced. What happened in the Al Ahly match was that Mohamed Essam fell on the field, and Mahmoud Naji requested him to leave and not return until the first stoppage, while Mohamed Barakat said that the fourth official stated it would be after one minute.”
El-Sharaii clarified, “This rule is applied when the referee feels the player is wasting time. This happened after we conceded the third goal, meaning we were looking to equalize, so how could our player be wasting time?”
Ayman El-Sharaii concluded his remarks, “My issue with Mahmoud Naji’s report is that he described Mohamed Barakat’s red card, for saying ‘You do not understand the law,’ as unsporting behavior, which could cost us a four-match suspension.”
Al Ahly secured their second consecutive win against Enppi after five consecutive matches without a victory against their rival in all competitions.
Al Ahly head coach Hossin Amouta’s first match saw a comeback after trailing by two goals and a return to the top of the table.
Al Ahly are preparing for their match against Zed next Friday in the second round of the league.
Meanwhile, Enppi will host their guests Wadi Degla on the same day.
