On Monday, the official accounts of Al-Ahly of Egypt on social media deleted controversial statements made by the club’s director of football, Sayed Abdel Hafeez, once morest the background of the “honorary corridor” crisis in the Egypt Cup final.
Abdel Hafeez had sparked controversy in Egyptian circles, following ignoring an honorary corridor made by the Zamalek team and his technical staff to honor Al-Ahly players, following the white team’s victory in the Egypt Cup final.
Zamalek crowned the 28th cup in its history, Thursday, following beating its historical rivals Al-Ahly 2-1, at Cairo Stadium, in a match that was dominated by sportsmanship before Abdel Hafeez’s behavior.
During the ceremony to receive the cup and the second place medals, the Al-Ahly football director crossed the honorary corridor, and walked alone towards the podium, although the rest of the technical staff and the players of the red team were keen to shake hands with the Zamalek players as they passed the honorary corridor, according to the “Sunrise” website.
Controversy prevailed on social media following the incident, as opinions were divided between supporters and opponents of Abdel Hafeez’s position, which was brought together by differences for years, with verbal exchanges with the president of Zamalek Club, Lawyer Mortada Mansour, who avoided shaking hands with Abdel Hafeez on the podium, seconds following the honorary corridor incident.
And on Sunday, Abdel Hafeez made loud statements following his team’s victory over El-Gouna in the Egyptian League, in which he stressed that as for the honorary corridor, he does not accept that “you do it with your mood and cancel it with your mood – I am not under your command, we often decide the league title or any other championship and we did not find an honorary corridor from Before,” according to “Al-Masry Al-Youm” newspaper.
Then he responded to previous statements by Mansour, confirming that he did not live his childhood among donkeys simply because he never entered his “home or met him” when he was young, without mentioning the president of Zamalek club by name.
Mansour had gone out hours before, to confirm in televised statements that Sayed Abdel Hafeez had previously said that he was “bred among donkeys”, as he put it.
Al-Ahly’s football director continued his new statements, which caused an uproar, saying: “During the month of October, I will turn 45 years, and the next is not more than the previous age. It is not normal for anyone to question my patriotism and the people of my house. It was the last day of my life,” according to “Al-Masry Al-Youm.”
He added, “I am not the person who is in a place and is insulted and insulted by his family in the studio, and then responds to a person and says to him, Mr. Chancellor.”
Mortada Mansour is known in the Egyptian sports community as “The Counsellor”.
And on Monday, Al-Ahly’s accounts on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter deleted the statements of football director Sayed Abdel Hafeez, without giving reasons, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm, following many analysts on social networking sites and satellite channels picked them up.
The two Egyptian football poles are fiercely competing for the Egyptian League title this season, with 8 rounds remaining, while the Pyramids team also entered the competition this season.