Referee Mahmoud Basyouni officially canceled the highly anticipated Cairo derby between Zamalek and Al Ahly after the latter failed to show up at Cairo International Stadium at the scheduled time.
The match was set for 9:30 PM as part of the first round of the second phase of the Egyptian Premier League. Zamalek players and the officiating crew arrived on time, but Al Ahly’s squad and coaching staff were absent. After waiting the required 15 minutes, the referee declared the match canceled.
Earlier in the day, Al Ahly’s board released a statement demanding the match be postponed due to the lack of foreign referees and threatened to withdraw from the league if their request was denied.
Zamalek, in response, insisted the match proceed as scheduled with the designated Egyptian referees announced by the Football Association.
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