CAIRO: Referee Tawfik Al-Sayed blew his final whistle to end Zamalek s 1-1 Egyptian Premier League draw with Police Union on Wednesday and spark a free-for-all on the pitch. Zamalek, who have repeatedly accused referees of favoring opposing teams this season, were infuriated after having several penalty claims turned down by Al-Sayed. The match was halted for around 15 minutes after Zamalek fans threw stones and bottles onto the pitch in protest at Al-Sayed s decisions. Police were having a one-goal lead when winger Shikabala struck home in the 17th minute of stoppage time to help the hosts secure a share of spoils. However, his goal was not enough to ease tensions. Right after Al-Sayed blew his final whistle, a fist-fight broke out between Zamalek and Police players. Zamalek s de facto football director Ibrahim Hassan, who is serving a five-year suspension for losing his head in a regional match while working with Masri, once again stole the show. He was seen chasing and beating Police assistant coach Mohamed Ibrahim before being separated by his twin brother Hossam Hassan, Zamalek s head coach, and security personnel. The Police coach (Ibrahim) provoked Zamalek fans after making obscene gestures toward them, Ibrahim Hassan told Modern Sport after the ill-tempered game. He also spitted at them and insulted Zamalek s technical staff members, including my brother (Hossam Hassan). Ibrahim, in a phone call with the same channel, denied any wrongdoing and accused Hassan of physically abusing him. Ibrahim Hassan rushed towards me after the final whistle and shattered my eyeglasses. I neither provoked him nor made anything inappropriate. No Tolerance The Egyptian FA s disciplinary committee will convene on Thursday to discuss the match s incidents, chairman Samir Zaher said. We will not tolerate such shameful acts. We can t remain silent after what happened tonight, he told FilGoal.com. We have to restore discipline in our matches, so heavy sanctions will be imposed on whomever responsible for those unfortunate incidents. Zamalek are already at loggerheads with the Egyptian FA over several issues, including the saga of Egypt forward Gedo who admitted that he signed a contract with them before extending his existing deal with Ittihad. Zamalek assistant coach Tarek Soliman attended the post-match news conference but stormed out after five minutes. I will not make any comments about the match, but we are totally dissatisfied with the referee s decisions, he said. Soliman later revealed that the club will hold a news conference on Thursday to officially comment on the matter.
