Egyptian club Zamalek has filed a formal complaint with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) following their 1-1 draw with South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs.
The match, which took place at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium, ended with a late equalizer from Kaizer Chiefs’ Dillan Solomons, canceling out an earlier goal by Zamalek’s Seifeddine Jaziri.
In their complaint, Zamalek expressed dissatisfaction with the refereeing by the Rwandan officiating team. The club stated they should have been awarded a penalty for a foul on their player, Chico Banza. They also argued that a first-half goal by Jaziri, which was disallowed, should have been permitted to stand.
Despite the official complaint, Zamalek’s coach, Ahmed Abdel Raouf, declined to discuss the refereeing after the game. He instead focused on the team’s need to prepare for future matches and compete for the top position in their group.
Officail Statement Below:
Zamalek Officially Submits a Complaint to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Against the Referee of the Kaizer Chiefs Match
The Board of Directors of Zamalek Club decided to submit an official complaint to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against the Rwandan refereeing crew led by Samuel Uwikunda, following the refereeing mistakes witnessed during the first team’s football match against Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa in the second round of the CAF Champions League group stage.
Zamalek stresses in its complaint that the refereeing mistakes in this match affected the final result of the encounter, and the team was entitled to a correct penalty kick in favor of the Tunisian player Seifeddine Jaziri, in addition to the incorrect cancellation of a goal, without any understandable reason for everyone who followed the match. This is besides the excessive use of yellow cards by the referee against the Zamalek players throughout the game.
Zamalek demands in its complaint to the Confederation of African Football the necessity of intervention and the selection of appropriate referees to reduce the phenomenon of refereeing mistakes that greatly affect the results of matches in the tournament. The club also demands CAF to urgently provide the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology starting from the third round of the group stage matches in the upcoming matches, due to the absence of the video technology in the group stage matches. Zamalek believes the lack of VAR affects the integrity of the competition, and it is time to take decisions that will rectify the refereeing system in African tournaments, including the CAF Champions League.
