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We will not play without European referees - Zamalek Zamalek will not complete the Egyptian Premier League without European referees, says football director
Zamalek football director Ibrahim Hassan said on Sunday the club would refuse to complete the Egyptian Premier League unless European referees take charge of their remaining matches. “We want European referees for our next six matches in the Egyptian league. We will not play again under the guidance of African or Arab referees,” Hassan, the twin brother of head coach Hossam, told Ahram Online. Zamalek's previous game against Ittihad El-Shorta was refereed by a Tunisian official, while a Saudi official refereed Ahly's match against Petrojet. Egyptian referees have come in for fierce criticism lately by many of the Premier League clubs, who went as far as accusing them of favoring certain teams. Ismaily, who lie third in the league table, threatened to withdraw from the competition after suffering a 1-0 defeat by El-Geish which dealt a serious blow to their hopes of clinching the title for the first time since 2002. Cairo's bitter rivals Ahly and Zamalek have repeatedly complained about local refereeing, calling on the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to assign their games to foreign officials.