Following a one-month stoppage, security concerns linger over the Egyptian Premier League. Ahmed Morsy reports The Ministry of Interior announced that last Tuesday's behind-closed-door game between Ahli and Ismaili had been postponed for security reasons. Afterwards the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) stated that the game will be played instead on 26 December following a four-week stoppage of the football domestic league. The long break was to give Egypt's national junior team sufficient time to prepare for their Olympic Games qualifications. Egypt did not disappoint, qualifying for the Olympic Games for the first time since 1992. Ministry officials decided to delay the Ahli-Ismaili clash to secure the second round of parliamentary elections. "We are angry with the decision because we've been preparing for the game after playing a number of friendly games recently," Ahli football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz told the club's website. "The postponement could be extremely damaging to Ahli. We will now play our first competitive match on 22 December. "If we add the league break, we can see that it is a very long period away from competitive football." Ahli's last competitive game was more than a month ago when they edged out a 3-2 thriller with Enppi on 7 November. Ahli are atop the Egyptian national league table with 14 points, four ahead of Ismaili who lie seventh. The EFA announced earlier that the Ahli-Ismaili game would be played without fans due to the behaviour of Ahli supporters, including their excessive use of light flares during games. Ultras Ahlawi previously publicised their insistence on attending the clash with Ismaili despite the EFA's sanction. "We confirmed during the Dakhleya game that we are going to attend the Ismaili match. And we will attend," said a statement by the Ultras Ahlawi Facebook page. The hardcore supporters of Ahli and Zamalek, Ultras Ahlawi and Ultras White Knights respectively, were in the frontlines during the clashes with police forces last month in Mohamed Mahmoud, one of the streets leading to the Interior Ministry headquarters in Tahrir. On Monday, the EFA announced that the controversial clash will be played on 26 December in Cairo Stadium and behind closed doors after a request from the Interior Ministry which said it would be busy securing the second round of the ongoing parliamentary elections. "The Egyptian football association decided to set December 26 as a new date for the Ahli-Ismaili clash behind closed doors,'' read a statement on the EFA official website. Ahli's cross-town opponents had a completely different take on their upcoming match. Zamalek, fifth in the league table with 10 points, asked for their game against Arab Contractors to be postponed like that of Cairo rivals Ahli. The game was scheduled to be played on 14 December. "The club wants to ensure the safety of the players and technical staff because the parliamentary elections will coincide with the match against Arab Contractors," Zamalek said in a statement on their official website. "Like what happened with other teams, Zamalek want the match to be postponed," the club added. But the EFA turned down Zamalek's request because the Ahli -Ismaili match "has special circumstances."
