Ahli assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri refused to comment on Amir Abdul-Hamid's performance during Sunday's 2-2 with Petrojet. Goalkeeper Abdul-Hamid was largely blamed for the home side's two goals, which denied the Red Devils a vital away win. But Al-Badri believes that the two points slipped for other reasons. "We were held because Petrojet produced a good display," Al-Badri said at the post-match conference. "They were better than us in the first half, and it was the other way around in the second when Manuel Jose made the right substitutions." Several TV reports claimed that coach Jose severely criticized Abdul-Hamid in the dressing room, but the latter refuted the talks later.
Al-Badri also hit out at the referee for controversially showing Ahmed Hassan a yellow card in the second half. "Hassan didn't deserve to be cautioned, now he's going to miss the upcoming clash against Ismaili," he said. "I don't know what to say to the referee, it was Wael Gomaa who deserved the card for his harsh challenge, not Hassan." On the other hand, Petrojet boss Mokhtar Mokhtar said he still holds out hope to secure the league title. "The title race is far from over, and we are going to compete till the very last minute," he said.
