CAIRO: Zamalek assistant coach Ayman Mansour said the club intends to punish defender Wissem El-Abdi for being needlessly dismissed in the disappointing 1-1 draw with Suez Cement.
The Tunisian defender was handed a straight red card in the first-half after hitting Mohamed Al-Saghir s chest with his boot in an off-ball challenge.
The player s dismissal was a clear setback to our chances in the match, Mansour told the post-match press conference.
We had to play with 10 men for 60 minutes – a situation that we couldn t deal with. El-Abdi will be punished and a strict policy will be applied from now onwards.
We will take advantage of the Egyptian League s break to strengthen our weak points in order to regain our competitiveness, he added.
The defeat left last season s runners-up in seventh place of the league table with 10 points, seven adrift of leaders and title holders Al Ahly.
On the other hand, Cement coach Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Shafi insisted he will hand in his resignation despite the relatively good result for his side that Slie at the bottom of the league table.
He revealed that he will hold a meeting with the club s board to discuss their future following a poor start to the new season
