Khaled El-Darndaly, Vice President of the Egyptian Football Association, criticized the conduct of the Egypt national team's technical staff during the Pharaohs' trip to Juba to face South Sudan in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Khaled El-Darndaly headed the Egyptian national team's delegation to South Sudan, which witnessed the team's victory over the hosts by five goals to nil in the second round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Khaled El-Darndaly stated in comments to On Sport channel: "I represent Egypt and the Football Association, and I am Khaled El-Darndaly. I have headed many delegations since 2002, through Al Ahly, where I learned the principles, how to head delegations, and how to preserve Egypt's reputation, as well as through the Football Association."
Containing Crises
He added: "I learned how to avoid crises and contain problems, because some of them may lead to crises that harm my personal image and my country, causing confusion within the delegation itself. Therefore, one must possess emotional stability and not act impulsively."
He continued: "I respect myself, I respect the position I hold, and I respect Egypt, because these are official delegations that are received by ambassadors of countries, including the Ambassador of South Sudan on the last trip."
He completed: "Hossam Hassan did not exchange greetings with me before traveling, so the message reached me. Upon arriving in South Sudan, I decided not to blow things out of proportion, to maintain the players' focus, and to ensure they noticed nothing from us."
Details of the Juba Incident
He went on: "I requested some officials of the national team to report back to me if anything happened, and I confirmed to them that I would eat alone in a hall with the Egyptian Consulate officials, and my meetings would be there, with a partition separating me from the players' and technical staff's hall."
He elaborated: "There was no conversation between me and Hossam Hassan after the match against South Sudan. I maintained my calm (you cannot predict what the person in front of you is doing... you cannot imagine his reaction). Therefore, it is necessary to preserve my dignity and the prestige of the delegation itself."
He added: "The players were behaving normally and exchanging greetings with the ambassador and the medical staff, except for four individuals. I will not allow violations, as there are traditions for delegations, and I am an experienced delegation head."
The Association's Statement
El-Darndaly spoke about the Football Association's statement that did not mention his name upon the delegation's arrival in Juba, saying: "Since when do delegations travel under the leadership of the technical director! This never happens. I do not have personal social media accounts (and this talk does not matter to me, nor does it shake a single hair on my head), but when feeling deliberately insulted, one must intervene as the delegation head."
Regarding the connection of the Hassan twins to the matter, he said: "Nothing is done without approval... The one who writes it is the media coordinator. This talk is shameful, unacceptable, and not permitted. We create crises ourselves. This has happened repeatedly, so whoever did it will be held accountable, and I will write this in the report, and everyone will receive their due punishment."
