Al Ahly will reportedly face huge financial losses should they proceed with their threat to leave the Egyptian Premier League.
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Earlier this month, the Red Devils refused to play the fierce Cairo Derby against arch-rivals Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League because a foreign referee would not be officiating the encounter. The White Knights honoured the fixture, while the Red Devils refused to pitch.
As a consequence, Zamalek were awarded a 3-0 victory by the Professional Clubs Association. Unhappy about the decision, the Club of the Century appealed the verdict, but now the Egyptian Olympic Committee has upheld the initial ruling, and the White Castle are now three points behind Marcel Koller's side.
One of the threats that Ahly made prior to the Cairo Derby was that they would potentially leave the Egyptian Premier League if their request to have a foreign referee was not fulfilled.
For not playing in the derby, it is alleged that they have incurred a hefty financial loss, including TV broadcasting rights, sponsorship, stadium advertisements, TV advertisements, and losses from sponsoring companies, which have amounted to 220 million (R79.3 million) Egyptian pounds.
A source has informed Kooora that the record CAF Champions League winners could lose even more money should they follow through on their threat.
"Al Ahly's losses will not stop at 220 million (R79.3 million) Egyptian pounds and the loss of the league title, but they may increase if they insist on not completing the league. These losses could reach another 100 million Egyptian pounds (R36 million) from sponsors and another 60 million (R21.6 million) Egyptian pounds from TV broadcasting of the remaining matches, bringing the total to 380 million Egyptian pounds (R136 million) if the competition is not completed," the anonymous source has said.
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The same publication claims that the club is waiting for the return of chairman Mahmoud El-Khatib before making a definitive decision on whether to continue in the top flight this season.
