The Board of Directors of Al Ahly Club, headed by Mahmoud El-Khatib, officially addressed the Egyptian Football Association today, Sunday, following the statements of Jihad Grisha, the former referee and member of the recent Referees Committee, as well as the statements of Mahmoud Ashour, the VAR referee in the Ceramica Cleopatra match in the league last season.
The duo had made statements yesterday that Al Ahly deserved a penalty in the Ceramica Cleopatra match in the final stage, and referee Mahmoud Wafa did not award it, as Grisha said that Ahmed Mujahid was interfering greatly in the affairs of the Referees Committee.
Read | Jihad Grisha reveals shocking details inside the Referees Committee regarding the unawarded Al Ahly penalty against Ceramica
Al Ahly's letter included an objection to the appointment of Essam Abdel Fattah as head of the Referees Committee again, in addition to the failure of the federation president Hani Abu Rida to take a sufficient stance on the proposal to increase the number of clubs and his praise in the media of only one club for settling dues, as well as the statements from the duo Mahmoud Ashour and Jihad Grisha - which Al Ahly Club described as disastrous -.
Al Ahly's statement to the Football Association
According to the official website of Al Ahly Club, the club sent a letter today to the Egyptian Football Association stating that Al Ahly was looking forward to starting the implementation of the development plan for Egyptian football that was previously announced by the Minister of Youth and Sports, in conjunction with the Football Association a few weeks ago, to capitalize on the good level shown by the national team in the last World Cup.
However, the club was surprised by some decisions that do not inspire optimism about what is coming, but rather contribute to stirring up crises in the sports street. The Football Association assigned the presidency of the Referees Committee to an official who had previously held this position and did not provide justice to the majority of clubs, foremost among them Al Ahly Club, and used strange terms such as containment and the spirit of the protocol, which prompted the club at the time to announce to the public that the Referees Committee had lost its credibility and integrity, and decided to complete the league competition with young players and those returning from injuries, and refused to participate in the Cup tournament. The letter also stated that there is a public violation of the regulations.
Whoever does not commit to paying the dues of state institutions obtains the required approvals, and the federation president grants him the badge of excellence in the media as the one who pays the most and his contracts are valid, as if the contracts of the rest of the clubs are invalid, and he forgot that there are legitimate rights recognized worldwide in separating sports performance contracts from commercial rights contracts.
The letter pointed out that the federation president submitted a proposal to CAF to increase the number of clubs participating in the Champions League, and when he received the rejection response, he concealed it for a week without justification, unless it was waiting to determine the clubs that obtained the African license.
The club described the statements made in the last hours by the VAR referee in the Ceramica and Al Ahly match in the final stage of the league championship last season and a member of the Referees Committee as disastrous, representing a black mark on the forehead of the Egyptian refereeing system. The first revealed the unjustified stubbornness of the match referee in not awarding a valid penalty in favor of Al Ahly, and the second confirmed that, and clearly indicated what the club had repeatedly warned about, that there is a person outside the federation system interfering in the work of the Referees Committee.
Read | Mahmoud Ashour reveals the details of his dialogue with Wafa in the Al Ahly and Ceramica Cleopatra match regarding the penalty kick
Al Ahly returned and described in its letter the statements, decisions, and choices of the Football Association as not inspiring optimism or cooperation, and the association must bear its responsibilities. Everyone was waiting for what serves the interest of all clubs, which contributed strongly to producing and preparing distinguished players who helped the national team in the World Cup, and the club hoped to restore matters to their proper course to serve Egyptian football.
