Al Ahly have backed Mohamed El-Shenawy and rejected Hossam Hassan’s remarks about the goalkeeper following his exclusion from Egypt’s squad.
The club objected to both the description of El-Shenawy as previously “finished” and any suggestion that his reported injury was questionable.
In a statement circulated to reporters, Al Ahly said such comments represented an unacceptable slight against any player, particularly their captain.
The club stressed that it respects the national team’s technical decisions. However, it rejected remarks that could diminish El-Shenawy or question his medical condition.
Hassan sparked the dispute while explaining why he left El-Shenawy out of Egypt’s squad. The Egypt coach said he made the decision on technical grounds, regardless of the goalkeeper’s injury.
Hassan then recalled an earlier period when El-Shenawy had lost his place at Al Ahly. “There was a period when Mohamed El-Shenawy was finished,” Hassan said, arguing that Egypt helped the goalkeeper regain his level.
He also insisted that he had no personal dispute with the 37-year-old and continued to consider him one of Egypt’s senior players.
Al Ahly had formally announced El-Shenawy’s injury before Egypt named their squad.
The Red Devils’ statement follows an intervention from Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abo Rida, in which he described El-Shenawy as one of Egyptian football’s “loyal sons” after Hassan’s comments.
The controversy continued on Friday, although figures close to Hassan sought to soften the interpretation of his comments.
A source close to the Egypt coach said Hassan did not mean that El-Shenawy was finished as a player. Instead, he meant that the goalkeeper had previously fallen out of Al Ahly’s starting lineup.
Egypt team director Ibrahim Hassan also confirmed that Al Ahly sent the national team an official letter documenting El-Shenawy’s injury. He maintained that his brother still had the right to omit the goalkeeper for technical reasons.