Cairo, Egypt – Al Ahly announced on Thursday that it has filed an official complaint with the Egyptian Football Association’s Disciplinary Committee against referee Mahmoud Wafa. Wafa officiated the team’s match against Ceramica Cleopatra in the Egyptian Premier League.
Al Ahly drew 1-1 with their hosts Ceramica Cleopatra in a match played Tuesday evening at the Arab Contractors Stadium in the Green Mountain area. This was part of the first round of the second phase of the competition.
The club explained, in an official statement, that the referee had overstepped his bounds with regard to the team’s trio of Mohamed El Shenawy, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet and Hussein El Shahat.
The statement read as follows: “This morning, the club, defending the rights of its players Mohamed El Shenawy, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet and Hussein El Shahat, submitted a complaint to the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of the Egyptian Football Association against referee Mahmoud Wafa, who officiated the Al Ahly vs. Ceramica match in the league championship, which was held at the Arab Contractors Stadium the day before yesterday”.
The complaint stated that the referee – in a serious precedent – directed inappropriate language at team captain Mohamed El Shenawy. He also verbally abused player Hussein El Shahat. Furthermore, he pushed player Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet, accompanied by insulting remarks directed at one of the Egyptian national team captains.
He also issued warnings to Walid Salah El-Din, the football director, and goalkeeper Mustafa Shobeir, without justification.
In its complaint, the club requested the suspension of all decisions it described as arbitrary, issued by the referee against Al-Ahly players following the match. It also requested an immediate investigation into the aforementioned incidents. Furthermore, it demanded the application of the disciplinary rules stipulated in Articles (18) and (20) of the Disciplinary Regulations to the referee in question, and the imposition of the legally prescribed penalties.
