Al Masry threaten Nile Egyptian league withdrawal after controversial defeat to Petrojet

Al Masry SC have issued a strongly worded statement threatening to withdraw from the Nile Egyptian League following their 3-2 defeat to Petrojet on Saturday evening in the ninth round of the competition.

The Port Said club expressed outrage at what they described as “suspicious refereeing” during the match, criticizing referee Mohamed Abbas Qabeel and VAR official Khaled El-Ghandour.

In their official statement, Al Masry’s board, led by chairman Kamel Abu Ali, accused the refereeing team of targeting the club, pointing in particular to what they called a “comedic penalty” awarded to Petrojet in the second half. The statement claimed such decisions demonstrated a bias that “has no relation to football whatsoever” and amounted to “clear manipulation of results to serve certain clubs while harming others.”

Al Masry also questioned why the referee added only ten minutes of stoppage time despite lengthy delays caused by VAR reviews for both Al Masry’s second goal and Petrojet’s penalty. The club labeled the referee as “weak” and claimed he searched desperately for reasons to award Petrojet the spot kick.

The statement further referenced recent grievances, including a denied penalty against Zamalek in a previous match, accusing Egyptian refereeing of long-standing favoritism and double standards.

As a result, the Al Masry board announced it is now in “permanent session” to study escalation measures, which may include suspending its activities and withdrawing from the league.

“Unfortunately, Egyptian refereeing has become the biggest violator of fair competition and equal opportunity in recent years,” the statement read. “Despite repeated promises of reform, nothing has changed. Certain clubs continue to be favored at the expense of others, foremost among them Al Masry.”

The club concluded by urging the Egyptian Football Association to urgently address what it called the “catastrophic state” of refereeing in order to protect the integrity of domestic football.

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