Gamal Abdelhamid says VAR was down during the summit match

Gamal Abdelhamid says he has learned that VAR was not working during the summit match between Zamalek and Al Ahly. At the same time, the former Zamalek star argues that Al Ahly does not need a referee to secure a win. The failure he refers to is presented as information he says he has, not as an officially established fact.

After the match, Abdelhamid strongly challenged the refereeing decisions and said Zamalek had not been treated fairly on the pitch. He also reported that Gamal Al-Sharif, a Syrian refereeing expert, had concluded that Zamalek should have been awarded a penalty.

Speaking on « Al Defender », broadcast on Al Shams, Abdelhamid described refereeing as being governed by two interpretations in his view: one in Egypt and another in Europe. He criticised what he sees as differences in how the rules are applied, particularly in major matches. After the game, he also took issue with people defending the referee, saying that, in his view, they were connected to Al Ahly or the referees’ committee. He believes interpretations of the rules in Egypt can vary according to affiliations.

Abdelhamid clarified, however, that his criticism was not intended to diminish Al Ahly or question the ability of its players. He says he is defending Zamalek’s right to fair decisions, free of errors that could affect results. He stressed the need to apply the same standards to every club and said fair refereeing is essential to maintaining equal opportunities.

The alleged VAR failure, he added, still requires official clarification. His comments have therefore renewed the controversy over the match’s refereeing, without presenting the failure as confirmed.