Egypt “Zamalek Ready To Play Cairo Derby Under Any Circumstances” – El-Dardir

Al Ahly and Zamalek will face each other on 18th April in the Egyptian Premier League (EPL) game. The game should have taken place November 2020 but the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) decided to postpone the fourth round clash.

Both clubs demanded that foreign referees officiate, as it’s usually the case due to the magnitude of the game and the tensions that come with it. However, the EFA ignored their requests and announced on Friday night that an Egyptian referee will be appointed for the Cairo derby.

The normalisation committee said they respect and are fully confident in Egyptian officiating who are considering among the best on the African continent.

While Zamalek were disappointed with the decision, El-Dardir said that they’re ready regardless of the referee.

We’re disappointed with the EFA’s decision to appoint Egyptian referees for the derby. As we already revealed that we wanted foreign referees.” El-Dardir told OnTime Sport TV.

Zamalek is a big organization and of course we won’t withdraw. We’ll play the game with a local or foreign referee.

“The EFA ignored Zamalek and Al Ahly’s wishes as well as their fans’. They will bear the consequences if something goes wrong in the match, which we hope will go well, of course.

“We will play the match under any circumstances. And we will not propose specific referees to officiate the match.

“We trust in Egyptian referees. And we only want fairness. The referees must have international experience of course. They shouldn’t have any prior incidents and haven’t caused any problems recently.

“Zamalek is always fully focus before any important match. Players can be focused only if justice is applied. Which is what the coaching staff is currently doing by punishing any negligent player or ones that go out of the line.

“Emam Ashour and Ahmed Eid’s return to training is in the coaching staff’s hands alone.” He concluded.


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