Former African champions Ismaily SC, the club beaten by Nigeria’s Enyimba FC in the historic 2003 CAF Champions League final, have been relegated from the Egyptian Premier League after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Wadi Degla FC on Tuesday.

The result confirmed the end of Ismaily’s long-standing stay in Egypt’s top division, as the three-time league champions finished bottom of the four-team relegation group with 19 points.

The relegation marks only the second time in the club’s history that they have dropped out of the top flight and the first since the 1957-58 season. Their earlier relegation came during the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, when the club lost several key players before eventually returning to the elite division.

Founded in 1924 in the north-eastern Egyptian city of Ismailia along the Suez Canal, Ismaily are regarded as one of Egypt’s oldest and most iconic clubs.

For Nigerian football followers, the club remains closely associated with Enyimba’s historic triumph in the 2003 CAF Champions League final — a landmark victory that made the Aba-based side the first Nigerian club to win Africa’s premier club competition.

Enyimba defeated Ismaily 2-1 on aggregate in the final, winning the return leg 2-1 in Cairo after the first leg in Aba ended goalless. The victory launched a golden era for the Nigerian club, which successfully defended the title in 2004.

Ismaily themselves hold an important place in African football history. The Egyptian side became the first club from Egypt to win Africa’s top club competition in 1969, when the tournament was known as the African Cup of Champions Clubs.

The club last won the Egyptian league title in the 2001-02 season and also boasts two Egypt Cup trophies.

However, financial difficulties in recent years have badly affected the once-famous club. Reports indicate that Ismaily even published their bank account details publicly at one stage in a bid to encourage supporters to contribute funds toward the club’s survival.

Meanwhile, Wadi Degla’s victory lifted them to 48 points and the top position in the relegation group, keeping alive their hopes of survival.

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A goal scored under soccer’s experimental “daylight” offside rule was allowed for the first time in a ​professional match on Saturday, with Pacific FC forward ‌Alejandro Diaz on target in a 2-2 draw with Halifax Wanderers in the Canadian Premier League.

The strike would have been ​ruled out under the standard International Football Association ​Board Laws of the Game, but stood under ⁠the CPL’s ongoing trial conducted in cooperation with FIFA.

The ​Canadian league is testing the rule this season as ​part of efforts to reduce marginal offside decisions and encourage attacking play.

Under the system, an attacker is only deemed offside if ​there is clear “daylight” between them and the second-last ​defender, rather than being penalised for narrowly being ahead.

The concept, long ‌advocated ⁠by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in his role as FIFA’s head of global football development, is being assessed in Canada as a potential change to the ​offside law.

Diaz’s goal ​marked the ⁠first in-game application of the interpretation, which resulted directly in a goal, offering a ​glimpse of how the rule could alter ​attacking patterns ⁠and defensive positioning.

The CPL, which launched the trial earlier this month, has provided FIFA with a professional testing ⁠ground ​for the proposal as soccer’s world ​governing body evaluates whether to expand its use more broadly.

Reuters

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Al-Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy was handed a ​four-match ban after striking a ‌referee on the head following a 1-1 draw with Ceramica Cleopatra, the Egyptian ​Pro League said on ​Thursday.

The Egypt international, who was on ⁠the bench for Tuesday’s game, ​was incensed after Al-Ahly’s appeal for ​a penalty following a handball in stoppage time was denied.

“He handed a four‑match ban ​and fined 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($942) ​for assaulting the referee by pushing or ‌pulling (use ⁠of the hand without violence),” the league said in a statement.

The ban means El-Shenawy, who is expected ​to be ​Egypt’s ⁠starting goalkeeper at the World Cup in North America, ​will be sidelined until ​the ⁠final week of the league play-offs.

Al-Ahly are third on 41 points, five ⁠points ​behind leaders Zamalek.

-Reuters

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