If the current domestic league season is cancelled, no team will win the league and there will be no relegations, Egyptian Football Association Vice President Gamal Mohamed said on Tuesday.
“The number of the remaining matches is very large, and the point difference between the top teams is not settled yet, as well as in the relegation zone,” Mohamed was quoted as saying by Al-Ahram newspaper.
The Egyptian Premier League was suspended in March due to the coronavirus; almost 150 matches are left to play, following the 17th matchday of the 34-match season.
“The regulations don t include any clauses related to deciding the champion in the case of the season being called off. So in this situation there will be no champion nor relegated teams,” he added.
Defending champions Ahly are overwhelming favourites to win a fifth straight title. They top the table with 49 points, 16 ahead of nearest challengers Arab Contractors, who have played one game more than Ahly.
Ahly have voiced support for resuming the competition to preserve the “sporting and financial rights” of clubs.
Several countries have cancelled their footballing seasons amid the pandemic, and in many cases, including in France, Belgium, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, they have awarded the title to the leading team.
The EFA vice president said previously that football activity could resume in Egypt by mid-July, in accordance with the government’s plan to ease the restrictions it has implemented to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
Egypt has re-opened courts and some government offices, and hotels have been allowed to re-open to new guests at reduced capacity, as part of a plan that the government says will see the country “coexist” with the virus.
More re-openings are planned, but football officials were not given information on if or when they could restart the league.
Clubs have also halted training sessions amid the coronavirus, asking players to stay fit at home until further notice.
Egypt has almost 18,000 confirmed cases of the viral disease so far, with over 700 deaths.
