CAIRO - There is much debate in footballing circles over the recent decision not to relegate any teams from the Egyptian Premier League this season. Most Egyptian soccer experts are against this decision, made by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA). They believe that there is no need for such a decision, even if it was taken in the light of the recent revolution. EFA board member Hazem el-Hawari said the meeting to take the final decision about the relegations, was due on Sunday, has been postponed till Wednesday. "The lack of a quorum for the meeting of the board members is the real reason for postponing the meeting till Tuesday," he added. El-Hawari explained that, for the meeting to go ahead, there must be at least four members present. This will be possible tomorrow, after EFA board member Dr Maggie el-Halawani has returned from Turkey. Major-General Harab el-Dahshouri, the EFA ex-president, meanwhile, described the decision as ‘some sort of clowning', as Al-Ittihad of Alexandria, Semouha and the Arab Contractors, have all been officially relegated, as they were the bottom three clubs in the Premier League. El-Dahshouri explained that the Government hasn't interfered, as some people claim, adding that, if he were EFA president and this happened, he'd immediately resign in protest. Football expert Taha Ismail explained that the EFA decision is incorrect and there can't be any exceptions. He also noted that most of the big clubs worldwide would have acted like the River Plate club in the Argentine League; no-one there deemed it necessary to change the relegation system. Ismail added that only the General Assembly of the Egyptian Association was authorised to make such a decision. "Cancelling the relegations this year will make everything more difficult for the EFA when managing the competition, particularly with the promotion of three more clubs,” said Ismail, calling on respecting the history of Egyptian football and not resorting to exceptions in such important matters. Mahmoud Bakr, ex-president of the Olympic Club and a former EFA board member, explained that such a decision means supporting popular clubs against the institution club control in the Premier League. "The three clubs promoted to the Premier League next season all belong to institutions: Beni Sueif Telephones have reached the Egyptian Premier League for the first time after securing top spot in the Upper Egyptian group of the Second Division,” he said. Telephones complete the three teams moving to the top flight next season, Dakhlia and Ghazl el-Mahalla having secured promotion earlier. Osama Khalil, a former Ismaili club star, said that EFA's decision to cancel the relegations means doing a favour to Al-Ittihad, who are now going to stay in the Premier League. He called on EFA not to have a league champion this season, as they've cancelled the relegations. Clubs are divided over the decision. Those who reject it claim that the EFA should apply the rules approved by the General Assembly at the beginning of the season, while those who approve of the decision claim that this season has been exceptional, because the revolution has affected the clubs. Ismaili board member Walid Kilani agrees entirely. "The EFA started the league with specific clauses, which must be respected until the end," he pointed out. "We are in favour of the cancellation this year, but against the division of next year's competition into two groups," said Maged Nagati, Enppi club president. Ismaili football expert Ali Abou Grisha is sympathetic about the idea of cancelling the relegations this season, as most of the Egyptian clubs have suffered during and since the revolution. EFA spokesman Azmi Megahed said that the decision was made with the clubs' approval, adding that 19 clubs will be playing in the Premier League next season. "The decision to cancel the relegations this year is nothing new; this has happened many times in the past," Megahed said, adding that it occurred in 1990 when the Egyptian national team was preparing to participate in the World Cup in Italy. It has also happened on four other occasions: in 1961, 1975 and 1979. Football expert Amr Abul Magd warned of the decision's consequences for the future of Egyptian football. "Playing the league with so many teams will not leave enough time for the national teams to prepare for international tournaments. It puts the EFA under pressure, because the international players get tired," he added. “A lack of sufficient rest and preparation time will have a negative impact on the players' performance and the national team will pay the price.” Zamalek President Galal Ibrahim is strongly against the decision. "If the EFA insists on cancelling the relegations this year, they must also take away the title trophy from Al-Ahly," he argued. Sayyed Abdel-Hafiz, the director of Al-Ahly, described Zamalek's request for the league trophy to be taken away from his club as a joke, because the title winners aren't responsible for any EFA decisions, even a decision like cancelling the relegations. Mohamed Bayoumi, an Egyptian expert in FIFA, football's governing body, said that no club has the right to ask the EFA to pull the league trophy from Al-Ahly.
