Shikabala: ‘Better to cancel this season’

Zamalek's Shikabala in action

Saturday May 30, 2020. 13:00

Zamalek’s Mahmoud Abdelrazek Hassan Fadlala, more commonly known as Shikabala, has called for Egyptian football authorities to cancel the 2019-20 season.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced in mid-March that all football in the country would be halted due to the coronavirus pandemic and there has been no real sign of a move to resume the season thus far.

Leagues in Europe have begun the process of restarting, with the Bundesliga already back underway for a couple of weeks, while the Premier League and La Liga have solid plans in place to resume in mid to late June.

However, Shikabala argues that their situation is very different to that in Egypt, where their domestic championship is only about halfway completed for 2019-20.

“Safety of football players is a priority and they are worried about their families if they got infected,” Shikabala told Egyptian TV, as quoted by Nile Sports.

“In Europe, they have seven or eight rounds to finish the league but here in Egypt we are in a different situation as we still have a full round to finish the league.

He added, “I think we should wait for more time to return back. It is better to cancel this season and start a new season.”

Shikabala’s Zamalek have struggled in this domestic season, lying a full 18 points off the pace of leaders and arch rivals Al Ahly, though they have reached the semifinals of the CAF Champions League, where they are scheduled to face Morocco’s Raja Casablanca.