Referee slammed for giving Kaizer Chiefs 'clear favours' against Zamalek SC in dramatic Confederation Cup clash as Egyptian club files complaints to CAF

Former Zamalek star Haitham Farouk has claimed the referee was biased during the Confederation Cup game involving the Egyptian side and Kaizer Chiefs.

Farouk has said Zamalek deserved a penalty and that the referee also erred in disallowing their goal.  

"Zamalek played well, and the referee made mistakes on two occasions: the penalty for Chico Panza and the disallowed goal by Seif Al-Jaziri were clear favours," Farouk said on beIN Sports.

"We should have scored another goal."

Zamalek goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi made a costly mistake in injury time that handed Amakhosi a chance to equalise. However, Farouk has defended him for not stopping a strike by Dillon Solomons, arguing that mistakes are part of the game. 

"Mistakes are part of football, and unfortunately, goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi cost Zamalek two points," he added.

"Mohamed Sobhi is unlucky, and I hope this matter passes quickly. He is sad because of Juan Alfina Bezira, as he is much better than that."

Although the referee has been blamed for his decision, Zamalek coach Ahmed Abdel Raouf took a jibe against Chiefs, saying the Premier Soccer League heavyweights were not as clinical as expected, even though they are a big team.

He also steered away from the debate on how the officials refereed the game.

“I thank the players for what they presented in the match. Kaizer Chiefs is a big-name team, but they did not reach Zamalek’s goal in the first half, while they had only one chance in the second half. Meanwhile, we wasted many opportunities throughout both halves," Raouf said, as per Pan-African Football.  

“Conceding a goal from a mistake in the final minutes is my personal responsibility, and Mohamed Sobhi is a great goalkeeper," the tactician added.

“We earned a point from the draw, and we will prepare for the upcoming matches in order to compete for the top spot in the group. I refuse to talk about refereeing in today’s (Saturday’s) match.”

“We lost two points, and conceding a goal from a mistake in the last minute saddens us all. Zamalek is a big team that competes for all the championships it participates in.”

Despite struggling, Cedric Kaze said that what he saw from his players is convincing, and he is confident Chiefs will advance.

"I believe that after the first 15 minutes, we were the better team on the field. We tried to do everything to attack, to try to equalise. At the end, we got one point, and we're going to now focus on the next games, but what I saw today was a team that believes in themselves, and that's a team that I believe is going to qualify," Kaze said.

"I will not blame anyone; they tried their best, but we need to help them to have a better structure around the structures. We tried to play through the defence with short passes; we tried everything.

"I think we just need to level up our concentration a little bit in front of the net, and as we get it right in different defences, we'll get it right in attack," he explained.

“I will take the support from Polokwane fans, who came in numbers to help us. What we did, the point that we got, that’s the push from the fans, and we thank them, and we promise them that we will do everything to make them proud.”

Al Masry, who defeated Chiefs in the group stage opening game, top the pool with six points after their win against Zesco United. 

Zamalek are second with four points, while Chiefs are third with one. Zambian giants Zesco United face a bleak future at the group stage after losing their first two games.