In the past few hours, a new crisis emerged involving Egypt's senior national football team, following reports of disrespectful behavior by team manager Ibrahim Hassan on the sidelines of the Angola match during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Journalist Ahmed Abdel-Basit stated during his appearance on the program "Ahwa Fayeq," broadcast on MBC Masr channel, that if Khaled El-Darndaly, the vice-president of the Egyptian Football Association, submits his report to the FA detailing everything that happened in the camp, Ibrahim Hassan will be dismissed.
Abdel-Basit added: "Ibrahim Hassan verbally abused the players sitting on the bench during the Angola match in the presence of Mohamed Salah, which the player completely rejected. Salah left feeling upset" (Read all the details here)
Egypt won 5-0 against South Sudan in the second round of the African qualifiers, while they are set to play a strong friendly match against South Africa at 9 PM tomorrow, Sunday, in Cairo, before the end of the international break.
Four crises faced by the Egyptian national team during the international break
Firstly.. Hossam Hassan's statement against Mohamed El-Shenawy
Tensions rose just before Egypt's match against Angola when Hossam Hassan justified excluding veteran goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy from the Pharaohs' starting lineup with a controversial statement, saying the goalkeeper was "finished at his club."
This statement sparked widespread criticism and backlash from Al-Ahly club management. Under pressure from the sports community, Hossam Hassan was forced to hold a press conference on September 28, 2026, to correct his remarks, stating that his words were "misinterpreted and misunderstood" and that he only meant the period of the goalkeeper's shoulder injury.
He added: "At one point, Mohamed El-Shenawy was 'finished' and not playing at all for his club, yet he returned to his level through training with us... He regained his form through the Egyptian national team... Not just him, but other players as well" (Read the details here)
Secondly.. Substituting Mohamed Salah and his departure from the camp
The crisis flared up in the 61st minute of the match against Angola when Hossam Hassan decided to substitute Mohamed Salah for tactical reasons.
The captain and star attacker of the Pharaohs expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision, and the next day he permanently left the camp, not traveling with the delegation to Juba to face South Sudan.
Meanwhile, the Football Association justified Salah's absence from the remainder of the camp as being to avoid playing on South Sudan's artificial turf pitch ("Tartan").
Despite this, subsequent reports confirmed that Salah is angry about the way he was treated, evidenced by the fact that he did not return to the camp even after the delegation returned to Cairo to play the anticipated friendly against South Africa.
Thirdly.. Withdrawal of professionals (Abdel-Moneim and others)
The current camp witnessed significant absences and withdrawals by several players, confirming the absence of three players: Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, and Ahmed Fathy.
Salah and Abdel-Moneim's absences came in coordination with the technical staff, while Ahmed Fathy was affected by an injury, specifically a bruise in the right thigh muscles, sustained during the match against South Sudan.
The absence of these three players disrupted Hossam Hassan's plans, especially since the technical staff relied on them as key elements in the Egyptian national team's formation, but the coach later confirmed his intention to rely on new players.
Fourthly.. Reports of Ibrahim Hassan clashing with players
In recent hours, reports circulated indicating a heated verbal altercation inside the dressing room, alleging that team manager Ibrahim Hassan used abusive language towards some players due to their poor performance on the pitch, creating a rift within the camp.
Journalist Ahmed Abdel-Basit said regarding this matter on MBC Masr channel: "Starting from the statements made before the Angola match, there were warnings that statements should be disciplined."
He continued: "Mohamed Salah and the players were angry because of the abuse directed at them on the bench five minutes after Salah was substituted out of the Angola match, by Ibrahim Hassan, and the players were accused of lacking integrity in front of the players and Salah."
He added: "Hossam Hassan apologized afterwards and said: I don't know how I did that and I didn't mean it, but the words directed at the players caused anger among all of them. Khaled El-Darndaly learned what happened, but he wanted the camp to pass peacefully."
He concluded: "If solutions are not found and communication is established with Salah and the angry players, they will not be present in the next national team camp, including Marmoush, Salah, and Abdel-Moneim. Also, all the players who were on the bench are angry because of the words directed at them."
