The Egyptian domestic football league keeps getting postponed, reports Ahmed Morsy The ongoing clashes between protesters and security forces in front of the Cabinet building near Tahrir Square has brought disorder in the national league schedule as well After the Ahli vs Ismaili behind closed doors game was rescheduled to 26 December, Ahli should have played their ninth week game against second-placed Misr Lelmakassah today, 22 December. However, that game was also postponed and is to be played tomorrow after security officials said they could not safeguard the match since there were two other games to be played in Cairo. Accordingly, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) was forced to re-adjust Ahli's schedule and also delayed the matches of Ismaili and Spinning Mehalla to 27 and 31 December, a day after initially scheduled. "What concerns security officials most is that there are two other games that will be held at the same time, in the Arab Contractors and Military stadiums," EFA spokesman Azmi Megahed said. Today, Wadi Degla will host Ismaili in the Military Stadium while the Arab Contractors play league leaders Haras Al-Hedoud. Accordingly, today's Ahli game was to be switched to Alexandria because of the unrest in Cairo. "After the two sides approved, Max Stadium is our favoured option now," Megahed said on Monday. But later, EFA officials failed to reach agreement with Max Stadium (Alexandria) to host the game. It bounced back to Cairo Stadium but with a 24-hour delay, now to be played on 23 December. Moreover, Sunday's league game between Zamalek and Misri in Cairo was also postponed indefinitely for security reasons in the wake of the fresh Tahrir clashes. Consequently, the delay will create more headaches for the EFA because Zamalek already have a match postponed from the first week against Wadi Degla. "The game was postponed for security reasons," Zamalek's chief executive Alaa Mekled said in a brief statement on the club's official website. The match was due to take place behind closed doors but Zamalek's White Knights, a group of the team's hard-core fans, announced that they would storm the match despite a crowd ban imposed for the excessive use of light flares by Zamalek supporters in earlier games of the season. The EFA took its decision after the Military Academy Stadium refused to stage the game, which was supposed to be played behind closed doors. In addition, it has been reported that the EFA also wants to delay Zamalek's next game against Beni Sweif Telephones which is scheduled for 26 December. Zamalek are fifth in the league table with 13 points, six behind leaders Al-Hedoud and one behind Ahli who lie third. Zamalek management also announced Monday that they had reached an agreement with Saudi club Faisali to allow the Whites' right winger Hazem Emam to join the side for six months on loan for $75,000. "The club agreed to allow Emam to join Faisali on a loan basis to preserve the relationship between Egyptian teams and their counterpart in Saudi Arabia," said a statement on the official Zamalek site. The 23-year old star flew to Saudi Arabia last month and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Faisali after he filed a complaint with the EFA asking them to terminate his contract with Zamalek after the team failed to pay arrears. Haras Al-Hedoud took over first place in the league table after beating Police Union in Alexandria on Sunday. Mohamed Shaarawi broke the deadlock six minutes from the hour mark before Ahmed Eid wrapped up the win on 68 minutes. On the same day, Misr Lelmakassah managed to hold Ismaili to a goalless draw at Ismailia. The draw left Ismaili in eighth place with 11 points, but they still have two games in hand including their rescheduled clash with title holders Ahli on 27 December. Elsewhere, Beni Suef Telephones edged the Arab Contractors 1-0, thanks to a fabulous goal by Ahmed Shoukri who joined the team after a loan deal with Ahli. Enppi and Wadi Degla played out a 3-3 draw in an enthralling affair that saw the petroleum side salvage a late equaliser after falling twice behind. Enppi now occupies 15th place on five points from seven games, while Wadi Degla are 10th with 10 points.
