EFA respects Ahly, supports its demands, says spokesman

Ahly officials are free to decide what they consider beneficial to their club but it must be according to EFA rules, says football association spokesman Tuesday

Egyptian Football Association (EFA) spokesman Azmy Megahed has insisted that the association respects Ahly and supports its demands concerning the Port Said disaster.
The Red Devils' board announced Tuesday afternoon that it rejected the EFA penalties imposed on Masry last week for the Port Said disaster and that it would boycott the EFA and raise a case against it locally and internationally.
“We respect Ahly's board like any other club. Ahly's officials are free to decide what they consider beneficial to their club but it must be according to EFA rules,” Megahed told the EFA's official website on Tuesday.
“All parties must cooperate to overcome the current difficult circumstances in Egypt since the disaster,” he added.
All football competitions were suspended in Egypt after the disaster on 1 February when more than 70 supporters of Cairo-based Ahly were killed at the Port Said stadium.
Masry were banned from playing in the Premier League for two seasons. Ahly said the sanction was too weak and contradicted FIFA and EFA regulations.
Ahly's board insisted Tuesday that it would stick with an earlier decision “not to play in Port Said for five years and will never stop fighting for the martyrs' rights.”
“We are in solidarity with Ahly's request that those who were accused in the disaster should be immediately prosecuted,” concluded Megahed.
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