The Egyptian FA has decided to cancel the promotion playoff tournament and cut the number next season's Premier League clubs to 19 instead of 20. The Egyptian football ruling body said on its website that the decision was made as a punishment for the three clubs competing for a place in the top flight Tersana, Mansoura and Aswan. A playoff mini-league, which started earlier this month, resulted in a tie between the trio as each team won a game and lost another, with no tiebreaker used to settle it. A replay was supposed to take place to determine the winning team, only for the three clubs to protest, asking to be promoted jointly. Subsequently, the FA rejected the request and called off the mini-league after warning the three clubs on Monday. The decision means that only Ghazl Mahalla, Dakhlia and Bani Suef Telephones are to join last term's 16 top-flight clubs, following the FA's decision to cancel relegation for the 2010-2011 season. The new season is expected to kick off in mid-October.