The Referees Committee of the Egyptian Football Association announced its stance regarding the penalty kick awarded to Al-Ahly Club against Sharqia Enppi in the first round of the Egyptian Premier League.
The Referees Committee confirmed, in a video published on the official page of the Football Association and voiced by Gamal El-Ghandour, a committee member, that the penalty kick awarded to Ashraf Ben Sherqi, winger of Al-Ahly, was correct, resulting in a goal scored by Ahmed Sayed Zizo.
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Al-Ahly achieved victory over Sharqia Enppi with a score of three goals to two in the match held at Cairo International Stadium.
The committee revealed that referee Mahmoud Naji should have shown a yellow card to the Sharqia Enppi defender, explaining: "The referee's decision accurately applied the law following direct interference that hindered the Al-Ahly attacker from continuing the attack, which was confirmed by VAR technology, affirming there was no prior foul or simulation attempt."
Text of what Gamal El-Ghandour said in his analysis of Al-Ahly's penalty kick
"There are considerations we must take into account.. Did the attacker seek to play the ball? Yes, the attacker was seeking to play the ball; it was the defender who did not attempt to play the ball and merely pushed the attacker in the back."
"In this location and given the attacker's movement, the defender did not need a strong push to bring him down; the push was sufficient to prevent the attacker from reaching the ball in this situation."
"Therefore, there was a foul and a penalty kick. The referee's positioning helped him see the penalty incident, and the on-field decision was a penalty kick, which was upheld by the VAR referee. The Head Referees Committee's decision confirms it was a penalty kick, and the referee should have issued a yellow card."
