CAIRO: Egyptian Football Association (EFA) turned down Al-Ahly s request to postpone league games against Masri and Ghazl Mahalla for 24 hours.
The Egyptian champions demanding delaying Masri match, which is scheduled for Thursday March eighth, due to their African Champions League commitment.
Al-Ahly will begin their title defense against Highlanders club in Zimbabwe in the competition s round of 32 on March fourth and will return to Egypt three days later due to traveling difficulties.
This means that the Cairo giants have to face Masri just one day after their arrival in Egypt.
We decided not to postpone the game in order to maintain the league s stability, our decision is final EFA official Nayef Ezzat told FilGoal.com on Tuesday.
Al-Ahly officials also asked to postpone the match against Mahalla on March 14 for 24 hours, to allow enough time between the two games.
A club official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed his displeasure with EFA s decision, admitting that Al-Ahly have no alternative but to accept the ruling although the team will suffer from exhaustion.
