CAIRO - Al-Ahly Club board member Khaled el-Darandaly told Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) that the club administration thanked the Ministry of the Interior for securing the African Champions League (ACL) match of round 32 after having three times refused to do so. He stressed that the Ministry was aware of the consequences if Ahly did not play the game in Cairo. The team would be suspended for three years from tournaments organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The Interior Ministry has officially given the go-ahead for the Ahly ACL match against Ethiopian Coffee behind closed doors Sunday in the Military Stadium at 7:00pm Cairo Local Time (CLT). Al-Ahly drew 0-0 against Ethiopian Coffee in Addis Ababa. It was the Red Devils' first official match since the Port Said tragedy, which claimed the lives of at least 74 Ahly fans and injured more than 1,000. The massacre led to the cancellation of the Egyptian Premier League this season. El-Darandaly stressed it was high time that all associations, including the Ahly board, fans and the Interior Ministry worked together for the benefit of Egyptian football. The Ministry of Interior stated on its Facebook page that it approved of securing the Ahly-Ethiopian Coffee match in Cairo Sunday, in response to calls by various sports officials and for the sake of Egypt's reputation. “We are aware that the CAF could punish Al-Ahly for not playing the match, but it needs to be played behind closed doors.” Last month, Egypt's Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud referred 75 suspects to the criminal court in the wake of the violence that left more than 70 Ahly fans dead. The defendants include nine police officers, three officials and several fans of Al-Masry club. Two minors will be referred to the juvenile court. The Prosecutor-General also urged that surveillance cameras needed to be installed in football stadiums across the nation, to monitor all approaches and the entire internal and external areas. In the wake of the Port Said tragedy nearly two months ago, the Egyptian Premier League was first postponed and then cancelled. Most soccer clubs suspended all their activities and declared 40 days of mourning. The Ministry warned it would cancel its approval to secure the game if rioting elements threatened the security and safety of citizens. EFA spokesman Azmi Megahed told MENA that the Ministry's approval to secure the match was a great response and showed that those who didn't trust EFA's predictions were wrong. Al-Ahly Director Sayyed Abdel-Hafez said that the club's board had exerted great efforts to end the crisis about the ACL game, which could have endangered the team's tournament participation. The cancellation of the match would have pushed the Egyptian sports into a dark tunnel,” Abdel-Hafez commented. "Playing the match behind closed doors is a big loss, but it can't be helped, and the entire focus is now on the technical side," he added. He explained that he was sure the players would win this game and advance to round 16 of the ACL.
