Hassan Shehata questions Egypt FA’s handling of Mohamed Salah dispute

Former Egypt manager Hassan Shehata has claimed Mohamed Salah was involved in Hossam Hassan’s departure from the national team, while criticising Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abou Rida for travelling to Turkey to meet the Liverpool forward.

Speaking on the television programme El-Le3ib on MBC Masr, Shehata said Salah had caused Hossam Hassan to leave his post, describing the claim as “known to everyone”.

Shehata linked the departure to events at Egypt’s latest training camp, reopening debate about Salah’s influence within the national team and the way the football association managed the situation.

He compared Hossam Hassan’s decision to substitute Salah against Angola with his own decision to replace Ahmed Hossam Mido during the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. Shehata acknowledged that the circumstances were different, but said the two incidents were similar in the way players reacted to decisions made by the coaching staff.

The former Egypt manager also discussed the atmosphere inside dressing rooms, saying a coach can sometimes respond with a severe reprimand without that necessarily indicating a personal dispute.

He recalled Egypt’s 2009 Confederations Cup match against Brazil, saying he had strongly criticised the players at half-time. The example was intended to show that confrontations can form part of a coach’s work rather than automatically representing a personal conflict.

On Salah’s status within the squad, Shehata said the player’s importance did not place him above the manager’s decisions. Salah, he said, remained one of the 11 players on the pitch.

Shehata added that the coach was responsible for managing the match and making substitutions, while accountability rested with the body supervising the national team, in accordance with its regulations and responsibilities.

He insisted Hossam Hassan had not done anything that warranted his dismissal, although he also said the former manager’s personal problems had played a major part in the decision.

Shehata separately criticised Abou Rida’s journey to Turkey to meet Salah, saying it was inappropriate for the head of the football association to travel to a player to seek reconciliation.

“I would have refused if I had been asked to do that, regardless of the player’s name or reputation,” he said. Shehata argued that a senior official should not be placed in the position of containing a player in a way that suggested the association was trying to appease him, rather than addressing the matter through the appropriate administrative and technical channels.

The comments came after the Egyptian Football Association announced on 7 November that Hossam Hassan’s tenure had ended and appointed Ali Maher as his successor.

The dispute intensified after Salah was substituted against Angola and then missed Egypt’s match against South Sudan. The association has denied that Salah played any part in Hossam Hassan’s dismissal.