The refereeing controversy surrounding the latest Cairo derby between Al Ahly and Zamalek has entered a new stage after Zamalek's board announced several official steps to challenge decisions made during the match.

The club has demanded a quick response from the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to its complaint and requested permission for its representatives to listen to conversations between the match referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) officials.

Zamalek's decision follows continued debate over several refereeing incidents in the match, which ended in a 2-0 victory for Al Ahly.

Club officials believe some decisions affected the game and its final result, leading them to seek official explanations.

Zamalek Gives EFA 48 Hours

Zamalek's board released an official statement giving the Egyptian Football Association 48 hours to provide a final response to the complaint filed against the main referees committee.

The club said the complaint concerns what it considers serious refereeing mistakes during the derby.

Zamalek also requested coordination with the EFA to send an official delegation to listen to the audio recordings of conversations between the match referee and VAR officials.

The purpose of this request is to understand why VAR did not intervene in certain incidents that Zamalek believes had an impact on the match.

The board also decided to refer to comments made by Essam Abdel Fattah, head of the EFA Referees Committee, during an appearance with presenter Seif Zaher on ON Sport.

Zamalek believes these comments could support its position regarding the disputed refereeing decisions.

The club's actions are not limited to refereeing matters.

Zamalek also announced plans to contact Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation over offensive chants against the club that were heard during the television broadcast.

The board wants the relevant authorities to take appropriate action and ensure that sports broadcasts follow professional and ethical standards.

Latest News

El Khatib Accepts Medhat Shalaby's Apology as Al Ahly Drops All LawsuitsSalah row: Can Hossam Hassan rebuild trust, or should he go?

Zamalek stressed that these steps are intended to protect the rights of the club and its supporters.

The club also called for action to prevent what it sees as repeated refereeing mistakes and to ensure fair treatment for all teams in Egyptian football competitions.

EFA Sets EGP 100,000 VAR Access Fee

Meanwhile, a source within the Egyptian Football Association explained the federation's position regarding Zamalek's request to listen to the VAR conversations from the derby.

According to the source, the EFA has no objection in principle to allowing Zamalek representatives to hear the recordings.

However, the club must follow the official procedures already used in a similar case involving Al Ahly.

The source explained that Zamalek must pay an appeal fee of EGP 100,000 before completing the required steps to access the VAR audio.

This means that the club's request has not been rejected, but approval depends on meeting the federation's conditions.

Further developments are expected in the coming hours, particularly because Zamalek has set a 48-hour deadline for an official response to its complaint.

Another important issue will be whether the club decides to pay the required fee to proceed with its request to listen to the VAR recordings.

For now, the dispute remains unresolved.

Zamalek continues to demand clear explanations for the controversial decisions, while the EFA's reported position is that all clubs must follow the same procedures.

Zamalek supporters are now waiting to see whether these steps will provide answers about the derby incidents or lead to further disagreements between the club and the Egyptian Football Association.