Zamalek announces filing an official complaint to the Football Association against the referees committee

Zamalek SC has officially announced in a statement that they have submitted a formal complaint to the Football Association against the refereeing committee, alleging officiating injustices in the Cairo derby match against Al Ahly FC.

Zamalek lost to Al Ahly FC 2-0 on Sunday evening at Cairo International Stadium in the sixth round of the Egyptian League.

The statement from Zamalek SC reads: "The board of directors of Zamalek SC, led by Hussein Labib, has decided to file an official complaint to the Egyptian Football Association against the main refereeing committee, due to the injustice suffered by Zamalek in the summit match against Al Ahly FC, which led to the loss and wasted the efforts of the players and the coaching staff."

He added: "The use of an unknown refereeing crew, far below the value of the match, led to a series of decisions that were deliberately directed and blatantly against Zamalek, which affected the course and result of the match."

He added: "According to several refereeing experts, there were two unawarded penalties for Zamalek, in addition to the failure to review more than one play in favor of Zamalek through the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology."

Zamalek SC has blamed the main referees committee for their loss, stating that it was affected by the campaign it faced before the start of the Egyptian League, resulting in a lack of fairness and the committee's deliberate favoritism towards one side at the expense of Zamalek.

He added: "While Zamalek SC expresses its deep dissatisfaction with the way the referees' committee is currently managed, as evidenced by the Slovenian referee's mistakes in the summit match, Zamalek will not stand idly by and knows well how to protect the rights of the club and its fans."

He concluded: "While Zamalek SC has previously confirmed its refusal to question the integrity of the refereeing system in general, the club's position has not changed regarding the system as a whole. However, there are those within the referees' committee who need to review themselves regarding their choices of referees and to be up to the responsibility, so that justice is the foundation of officiating in matches."