Al-Ahly escalates against Hossam Hassan with a fiery statement: we now await a response to the "violations"
A new crisis for the twins
Al Ahly have sharpened their tone towards Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan after his recent remarks about club captain Mohamed El Shenawy and Emam Ashour. The club rejected any slight to the technical and moral standing of any player who represents them, insisting that a difference in technical vision does not justify overstepping the bounds of respect.
Hassan had explained during a press conference that El Shenawy was not called up to the national team in the current camp. He pointed out that the goalkeeper had previously featured for Egypt despite being, in his words, "finished with his club", while affirming his respect for El Shenawy and his right to select the squad according to his technical vision.
An official statement confirmed that Al Ahly had deliberately held back from responding to the head coach throughout the past period, waiting for the team's match against Angola to finish out of concern for the public interest. That patience came despite the circumstances the club had faced, when they were forced to contest major tournaments, including the FIFA Club World Cup, without a number of their international players.
Silence was not acceptance, the club stressed. What concerns Mohamed El Shenawy represents an unacceptable overstepping, given that he is captain of both Al Ahly and the Egypt national team.
Every player who wears the club's shirt represents a part of its entity, they explained, and preserving his technical and moral standing is not subject to differences in assessment or selection.
Al Ahly also criticised Hassan's comments about Emam Ashour, after the head coach indicated that he had included him before the Africa Cup of Nations in order to try him out. The club considered that this framing does not befit the nature of dealing with national team players.
The head coach has every right to select whoever he sees as suitable for his squad, the club affirmed. But that right does not extend to remarks which Al Ahly view as undermining the principle of mutual respect between the elements of the system.
Al Ahly likewise rejected what the head coach had said about the level of Egyptian clubs. The claim that they do not play football belittles the local clubs and competitions organised by the Egyptian Football Association and the Professional Clubs Association.
Concluding their statement, the club affirmed their displeasure at the remarks while valuing what the president of the Egyptian Football Association had said regarding the standing of Mohamed El Shenawy. Al Ahly await the football association's position towards what they described as overstepping, and stressed that a technical disagreement about players should not turn into prejudice to their standing or to the rights of their clubs.
