Cypriot Nikodimos Papafasiliou, the head coach of Ghazl El Mahalla Club, criticized Egyptian referees, asserting that his team has suffered from refereeing injustices and called for the appointment of international referees to ensure that no team faces unfair treatment.

Papafasiliou continued during the "Nile League Stars" program on "On Sport FM": "We have appeared as a team - Ghazl El Mahalla - in a good manner during the past matches since I took over, and we have shown superiority over all competitors, especially Al Ahly, and although we were not the best in the match against Al Masry, we managed to achieve victory."

He added: "The league is the most important tournament for us, and we were more deserving of reaching the semi-finals of the Egypt Cup, but the refereeing had a different opinion. We must deal wisely with our participation in the Cairo Capital Cup 'League Cup' and give opportunities to substitutes and young players."

He concluded his remarks by saying: "Young players are my personal philosophy; I always love to give them more opportunities, and I want my team’s formation to include young elements. This has been the case in all the teams I have coached in Egypt, and a prominent example is Mustafa El Ash, the current Al Ahly player and former Ghazl El Mahalla youth player."

It is noteworthy that Papafasiliou has previously held the position of head coach for Wadi Degla, Al Ittihad Alexandria, and National Bank of Egypt.