Zamalek, Pyramids and Al Ahly disagree over postponement of Caf inter-club competitions

Egyptian Premier League sides Zamalek and Pyramids have rejected the postponement of the Caf Champions League and Confederation Cup semi-final games while rivals Al Ahly accepted the Confederation of African Football (Caf) proposal for rescheduling.

According to reports, Caf is looking to move the semi-final matches of the inter-club competitions which were initially scheduled to start this September to a later date due to the rising cases of coronavirus in host country, Morocco.

Following a video conference meeting with Caf and other clubs this week, Zamalek disclosed that they were joined by Pyramids in refusing a postponement.

“I propose we play the home and away games of the Caf Champions League semi-finals in Egypt. We welcome our fellow Moroccans, for whom we have all the love and appreciation,” Zamalek President Mortada Mansour told the club website.

“But we refuse to postpone the games because of a deal made between Mohamed Fadl, a member of the normalization committee and some Moroccan teams.

“The league harmed many Zamalek players and they were insisting on resuming the league just so Al Ahly beat us but the opposite happened.

“Despite our situation, I consider Zamalek as being the only club that benefited from the league’s resumption as we now sit second, securing us a spot in the Champions League, while our rivals didn’t benefit from it.”

Al Ahly, on the other hand, expressed their view if the Champions League games were to be postponed.

“We were always planning on playing the semis-finals as per Caf’s scheduled dates,” read the club statement per King Fut.

“However, due to the current situation in Morocco and the difficulty for Raja and Wydad to play their matches because of the spread of the coronavirus, we don’t mind postponing the games.

“The human and health conditions are more important than the competition.”

After the indefinite postponement of the Champions League and Confederation in April due Covid-19, Caf announced a mini-tournament in Morocco for the Confederation Cup starting from September 22 while the Champions League remains a two-legged outing with the first leg in Morocco before the teams travel to Egypt for the return fixture.

Raja Casablanca battle Zamalek in the Champions League semi-fnals and Al Ahly face Wydad Casablanca in the second semi-final fixture. For the Confederation Cup, Pyramids have a date with Guinea's Horoya, while Morocco's RS Berkane lock horns with league rivals Hassania Agadir.