October 12, 2026
The Board of Directors of Zamalek Club, headed by Hussein Labib, decided to file an official complaint with the Egyptian Football Association, in protest against the arbitration performance and decisions witnessed in the summit match against Al-Ahly Club.
Zamalek had lost its match against Al-Ahly with two unanswered goals, in the match that was held on Sunday evening at Cairo International Stadium in the sixth round of the Egyptian Football League, where the two goals of the match were scored by Mohamed Hani in the 39th minute and Moncef Baqar in the 80th minute.
In its official statement, Zamalek Club considered that it was subjected to arbitration injustice that directly affected the course of the match and its outcome and wasted the efforts of the players and the technical staff, holding the main referees committee fully responsible for choosing the Slovenian crew to manage the match.
The club described the arbitration team as “anonymous and far below the value of the match,” noting that “decisions were deliberately and crudely directed against Zamalek.” The statement indicated that a number of arbitration experts confirmed that the team deserved two penalty kicks that were not awarded, in addition to not reviewing other cases in favor of the team via video assistant referee (VAR) technology, without specifying the names of the experts or details of the cases.
Zamalek accused the arbitration committee of submitting to the pressures that preceded the start of the competition and showing favoritism to one party at the expense of the other, expressing its strong dissatisfaction with the committee’s work mechanisms and choices. The club stressed that it “will not stand idly by and knows very well how to protect the rights of the club and its fans.”
At the conclusion of its statement, Zamalek affirmed its commitment to protecting its rights, explaining that its principled position of refusing to question the integrity of the arbitration system in general has not changed, but it called on officials in the referees’ committee to review their choices and assume their responsibilities to ensure that justice is achieved among all clubs.
