The Dervishes have been drawn to face Egyptian Premier League (EPL) title holders Zamalek, who were put on the group’s lead without draw alongside Ahly who also led the other group without joining the draw.

“Ismaily management refuses what happened in the Egypt Cup draw as it is a direct draw for specified teams,” Ismaily said in a statement on Saturday.

“Ismaily protests against the draw as it was held for the benefit of specified teams after the Competitions Committee and EPL board decided to separate Ahly and Zamalek on the top of the two groups without joining the draw,” the statement added.

“Ismaily management sees the Egypt Cup draw as not fair as the EPL [favoured] specified teams over another teams and it opposed to the equal opportunities,” Ismaily said in their statement.

“Hereby, Ismaily management decided to withdraw from Egypt Cup in protest of what happened to save the club’s rights,” the statement concluded.

The draw of the round of 16 of the 2021/22 season of Egypt’s secondary club competition was held on Saturday at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA).

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