Ismaili demanded that the Egyptian FA appoint a foreign referee for their Premier League game against Ahli later this month. The bitter rivals clash on November 21 in Ismailia in a highly-charged match that occasionally witnesses crowd trouble. Ismaili's board officially requested on Friday that a foreign official take charge of the match after earlier protesting against referee Fahim Omar's decisions during the team's 3-2 defeat by Zamalek. Zamalek needed an own goal by defender Moatasem Salem to claim a hard-fought victory but it was their second goal which stirred controversy and sparked angry protests from Ismaili coach Mark Wotte. Towering striker Ahmed Gaafar appeared in an offside position when he dinked the ball over keeper Mohamed Sobhi and into the net to give Zamalek a 2-1 lead on the stroke of halftime. The EFA traditionally assigns the Cairo derby between Ahli and Zamalek to foreign referees due to the heated rivalry between both sides. It permits other teams to follow suit on condition that they pay for the foreign officials. Masri have recently announced that a foreign referee will be in charge of their match against Zamalek. Several pundits constantly blame the EFA for 'not showing much trust in the abilities of Egyptian referees' but the association seemingly tries to avoid a war of words with clubs angry over local refereeing. Defending champions Ahli, who eye a seventh consecutive league title, are second in the table with 18 points from 8 games, three behind leaders Zamalek who played two matches more. Ismaili's poor run leaves them ninth on 13 points, increasing pressure on beleaguered coach Wotte.
