Zamalek football director Ibrahim Hassan, already no stranger to controversy, slammed referee Robert Schoergenhofer following Thursday's goalless draw with Ahli. A dull Cairo derby prompted pundits to question the attacking abilities of Ahli and Zamalek after both sides failed to create any clear-cut goalscoring chances. Schoergenhofer's name was hardly mentioned as the match did not witness debatable decisions but Hassan still took time to accuse the Austrian official of being biased towards Ahli, the club where he played as a right-back in the late 1980s and 1990s. "I'm surprised that the Egyptian FA brought such a referee to be in charge of the match. This was not a suitable choice," he told reporters following the derby. "The Egyptian FA opted to choose a referee from Austria although this country has some sporting treaties in place with certain figures," he added without further elaboration. During the past few weeks, some reports suggested that the derby might be postponed to give the EFA more time to select a foreign referee for the game. The association said it found it difficult to bring in an overseas official due to the Christmas holidays in Europe but eventually managed to settle on Schoergenhofer. "Snow falls in Germany, Spain, Italy, England and Austria too, so why did they bring referees from Austria in particular," Hassan sarcastically added. "The referee was looking at one direction tonight."
