CAIRO: Ismaili s coaching staff have resigned after the club s board imposed a harsh sanction on the players who featured in Sunday s goalless draw with Asyut Petroleum in the Egyptian Premier League. The Dervishes officials decided to fine each player LE 30,000 as a punishment for their lackluster performance against the league bottom side. Later on, it was reported that head coach Emad Soliman decided to step down from his role because of the "club s board interference in his job . The rest of the technical staff members also handed in their resignations out of respect to Soliman, whose decision was made after a clash with Ismaili s board. This is not a one-off problem with the board, it happens all the time, assistant coach Ashrak Khedr commented. During the post-match news conference, Khedr blamed his team for "easing off against minnows Asyut. We warned them of such a demeanor, but they didn t listen, he said. They were overly laid-back and just gave a point to their opponents as a gift. Third-placed Ismaili missed out on a chance to move up to second spot after they were surprisingly held at home to a stalemate by Asyut, who haven t won a single match this season. A victory for the coastal outfit would have lifted them to second place on 30 points. Now they are one point adrift of second-placed Petrojet, seven of defending champions and leaders Ahly.
