Following the Port Said tragedy, Masri has been punished even more, reports Ahmed Morsy The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) on Tuesday decided to increase its previous sanctions on Masri following the Port Said tragedy that left more than 75 dead and hundreds injured following a league match between Masri and Ahli on 1 February. Masri, the coastal club, has now been relegated to the second division starting from the 2013-2014 season. All its matches will be played behind closed doors. The club had earlier been banned from playing in the 2012-2013 season. Port Said stadium will also be unable to host any matches for four years. Last month, the EFA announced that Port Said's football team was banned from any football activities for two years while their stadium was to host no matches for three years. The EFA also decided to expand the four-match ban against Ahli captain Hossam Ghali to six coupled with a LE10,000 fine. Ghali was sent off for misconduct with the referee before the conclusion of the match. Ahli head coach Manuel Jose was banned for four matches and fined LE5,000. Also on Tuesday, Ahli was fined LE60,000 while its fans were banned from attending one football match. The initial penalty was LE5,000 and a four-game ban on supporters. Moreover, the next four games between Ahli and Masri were ordered to be played behind closed doors on neutral ground, 200 kilometres away from Cairo and Port Said. In related developments, after the Interior Ministry refused to safeguard the Egyptian Cup, the Football Association turned to the armed forces. Though the EFA announced Sunday that the Interior Ministry had refused to secure the 2012 Egyptian Cup, the following day the EFA said it will continue negotiations with the ministry and the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) in a desperate attempt to hold Egypt's second most important soccer competition. "The EFA is determined to hold the cup and will continue negotiations with both the Interior Ministry and the SCAF," the EFA said in a statement on its official website following a meeting of the caretaker board headed by Anwar Saleh. Following the Port Said disaster, the country's worst stadium disaster, all Egyptian football activities were suspended. The EFA cancelled the domestic football league season with 19 games remaining to mark the end of the season following the refusal of the Ministry of Interior to secure the competition owing to security concerns amid fears of similar violence in the country which has witnessed continued unrest since the January 25 Revolution last year that forced former president Hosni Mubarak to step down. Since the Port Said tragedy, the Interior Ministry has been reluctant to stage any competitive event. African matches which involve Egyptian clubs and which are played at home have been held behind closed doors. The general prosecution investigating the Port Said massacre has demanded surveillance cameras be set up in all stadiums in addition to electronic security gates, all of which have not been put in place. The EFA had suggested a friendly tournament to be called the Martyrs Cup replace the domestic league but security authorities and some clubs, particularly powerhouses Ahli and Zamalek, rejected the idea. The EFA statement explained that because most of Egypt's clubs are suffering from a lack of funds following the freezing of tournaments, the interim board was doing its best to ensure that the Egypt Cup goes ahead. "The new league season will start on 24 August while the date of the Egypt Super Cup match will be determined after round 16 of the African Champions League," added the EFA statement. The Super Cup will pit Ahli, league title holders, and the defending champions of the Egypt Cup, Enppi. On Sunday, the EFA received an official letter from the Interior Ministry rejecting its request to safeguard the Egyptian Cup that was scheduled to be played at the end of May. EFA spokesman Azmi Megahed said that the association will contact the SCAF, which has been effectively ruling the country since Mubarak stepped down in February 2011, to ask them to secure the tournament. Megahed added that the EFA was trying its best to hold the tournament to save the clubs from financial disaster and to "entertain the fans while hoping that the SCAF agrees." Before the decision cancelling the Cup competition, the EFA discussed holding the tournament in stadiums which would be restricted to only 20 per cent attendance, amid security concerns and raucous behaviour among fans. Another proposal was to hold the Cup games behind closed doors. However, both suggestions failed. Egypt assistant coach Diaa El-Sayed believes the cancellation of the Egyptian Cup will badly affect the Egyptian national team in its World Cup qualifiers. "Cancelling the Egypt Cup is a disaster," El-Sayed told the Middle East News Agency on Monday. "Egypt's matches shouldn't be held behind closed doors. They should be hosted by a neighbouring country instead," El-Sayed stressed. Six-time African champions Egypt, under the guidance of their American manager Bob Bradley, have four important continental clashes in June. They will play Mozambique twice in World Cup qualifiers and the Central African Republic twice in qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations. Cairo giants Ahli and Zamalek are currently playing in the CAF Champions League and Enppi is competing in Africa's second tier club tournament, the Confederation Cup. The trio qualified for the round of 16 of both the Confederation Cup and the Champions League. Enppi are scheduled to host Mali's CO Bamako in their first leg match in the round of 16 on Saturday. In round 32, Enppi thrashed visiting Burundi side Lydia Academique 4-1 at the Military Sports Complex in Cairo, allowing Enppi to go through on a 5-2 aggregate win after the two sides played to a 1-1 draw in Bujumbura. The victory came after the team underwent a tough moment when the Egyptian police initially refused to host the match in Cairo for security reasons, but then changed their mind. Six -time African champions Ahli are set to play away from home also on Saturday against Mali's Stade Malien in their first leg of their round of 16 games in the Champions league. Ahli qualified for the round of 16 after defeating Ethiopian Coffee 3-0 at the Military Academy Stadium in Cairo following an away goalless draw in the previous round. Zamalek play Morocco's MAS F��s over the weekend in their first game in the round of 16 after Zamalek were defeated 2-1 away from home, but managed to advance after winning 1-0 in Cairo. Their second leg match will be played in Cairo on 12 May.
