Mohamed Metwally, the former legal advisor for football at Zamalek Club, clarified the reason behind translating the International Football Federation (FIFA) letter into English regarding Abdel Hamid Maali's case.
Metwally stated via Modern Channel: "Zamalek's contract with Abdel Hamid Maali stipulated that any legal dispute would be conducted in English, not French. This is my legal right and it did not affect the course of the case or Zamalek's position."
He added, "I do not know if discussing more details about Maali's case will affect the club's position or not, especially since it remains under dispute until now."
He continued, "All our requests in the defense memo against Maali were heard."
He emphasized, "I am not responsible for paying the costs of cases for Zamalek Club; my role is solely to provide legal consultations. The financial crisis is what led to this large number of international cases."
He went on, "We took all correct and legally appropriate steps before causing the current crises."
He revealed, "The regulations did not specify that the disciplinary suspension penalty is linked to the termination of one or two players' contracts. There is no text specifying a certain number of players, as some circulated claiming it was four players. We also did not expect at all that a disciplinary suspension penalty would be imposed."
He concluded, "I have not been officially summoned for an investigation."
Previously, a source from Zamalek told FilGoal.com: "Regarding the reasoning behind the ruling in Maali's case, he said: 'On July 30th last year, we filed an appeal against the ruling granting Moroccan player Abdel Hamid Maali the right to receive $611,000. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is currently reviewing Zamalek's appeal after completing the necessary procedures and paying the required fees. An arbitrator will be appointed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after notifying the second party (Abdel Hamid Maali).'"
He finished, "The reasoning recently circulated in the media relates to facts and the sequence of events in the case since Maali terminated his contract earlier this year. The current Zamalek administration is handling this file, along with all other files, according to sound and established legal frameworks that preserve the club's rights."
Maali joined Zamalek at the beginning of the 2025-26 season, then unilaterally terminated his contract due to delayed payments of his dues.
Maali participated in 9 matches wearing the Zamalek jersey, without scoring or assisting in any of them.
After terminating his contract with Zamalek, Maali joined the Moroccan club Ittihad Tangier.
