Cairo giants Zamalek have officially lodged a complaint with FIFA against the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), accusing the football governing body of being unfair in their recent dispute, club chairman Mortada Mansour revealed Saturday. "Zamalek lodged a complaint with both FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) equipped with all the violations of the Egyptian Football Association," Mansour revealed in a press conference at the club's headquarters. On 18 April, EFA's Competition Committee penalised Zamalek for its failure to appear for an Egyptian Premier League match against Maqassa two days earlier, registering the game as a 2-0 defeat for the Cairo-based club. Zamalek management decided not to attend the match after a dispute with EFA over changing the match date without telling them officially. Zamalek's non-attendance followed several threats this season from club chairman Mansour that Zamalek would withdraw from matches in protest at refereeing decisions and competition regulations. Despite Zamalek's strong objection to the punishment, the Whites continued their run in the domestic league, playing three matches after the crisis. "EFA changed the system of the Egyptian league competition (allowing teams to replace players in their squads in the last winter transfer window) without a decision of the general assembly," Mansour explained Saturday. "The EFA board is already dissolved by the court and so they don't have any official status. Also the Competition Committee took the punishment decision without holding a meeting in another fatal violation. "We are sticking to our previous request of repeating the match and if they refuse we won't be competing in the Egyptian league anymore. I will give EFA president Hani Hani Abou-Reida a time limit until Wednesday to correct the situation," the outspoken lawyer added. Zamalek currently lie third in the Egyptian league table with 47 points, 20 behind archrivals and leaders Ahly. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
