CAIRO: The Egyptian league will resume next week as planned, the country’s football association said Wednesday, despite a violent riot by fans at an African Champions League game in Cairo over the weekend.
Following a meeting Tuesday which involved new Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, the Egyptian Football Association said the domestic league would return April 13.
Saturday’s violence by fans of Cairo club Zamalek, who invaded the pitch to attack the referee and opposition players from Tunisia’s Club Africain, had initially led the EFA to postpone the planned resumption at an emergency meeting on Sunday.
But the games will go ahead next week, the EFA said Wednesday, and fans will be allowed in.
Egyptian authorities had also said they were considering playing league matches behind closed doors, and possibly at military facilities, following Saturday’s problems at the 75,000-capacity Cairo Stadium.
The EFA said Sharaf and EFA President Samir Zaher "decided to resume the league matches in all grades and in the presence of the fans on April 13."
The Egyptian league was postponed in early February during the protests that eventually led to the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak.
The African Football Confederation says its disciplinary body will meet in Johannesburg this month to consider reports from match officials at the Zamalek-Club Africain last-32 Champions League tie.
Zamalek is almost certain to face sanctions, and future games in Cairo could also be affected.
