Ahly condemn Egypt coach Hossam Hassan over El-Shennawy remarks

Egyptian giants Al Ahly have launched a strong criticism of national team coach Hossam Hassan, describing his comments about veteran goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy as “irresponsible” and reflective of a “limited vision”.

The club issued the statement shortly after Egypt’s goalless draw with Angola on Saturday, ending days of silence following Hassan’s controversial remarks before the opening match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the 60-year-old insisted there was no personal dispute with El-Shennawy and said the decision to leave the 37-year-old out of the squad for this month’s qualifiers was based purely on football.

However, Hassan also claimed the goalkeeper had been “finished” at club level before returning to the national team, arguing that international duty had helped him rediscover his best form.

The comments triggered widespread debate across Egyptian football, although El-Shennawy has not publicly responded.

Ahly hit back

In a strongly worded statement, Ahly said they had deliberately delayed responding until after the Angola match out of respect for the national team’s interests.

“The national team coach’s remarks are irresponsible and reflect a limited vision,” the club said.

“We do not accept any violation of our players’ rights, and the transgressions against Mohamed El-Shennawy are completely unacceptable.”

The Cairo club said they had previously prioritised Egypt’s national team, including during major tournaments such as the FIFA Club World Cup when they were forced to compete without international players.

They argued that undermining “the technical and moral value” of any player was unacceptable, particularly one who captains both Ahly and Egypt.

Ahly also criticised Hassan’s comments about midfielder Emam Ashour, saying his suggestion that he selected the player before the Africa Cup of Nations to “prepare him” demonstrated “a lack of understanding of professional boundaries”.

Club defends its role

The club stressed that it consistently prepares players for international duty and prides itself on being Egypt’s leading supplier of national team talent.

While acknowledging that the coach has the right to select or omit players, Ahly insisted that authority did not extend to publicly criticising them.

“The coach has every right to call up or exclude any player, but he has no right to launch verbal attacks through statements that undermine the mutual respect among the stakeholders of the football system.”

Ahly also rejected Hassan’s broader criticism of Egyptian club football, saying his remarks unfairly disparaged domestic competitions organised by the Egyptian Football Association and the Professional Clubs Association.

The club said it was monitoring the Egyptian Football Association’s response to what it described as unacceptable conduct from the national team manager, while welcoming supportive comments from the federation’s president about El-Shennawy’s standing.

Veteran keeper’s changing role

El-Shennawy has won 76 caps for Egypt since making his international debut under former coach Hector Cúper in 2018.

The experienced goalkeeper has been Egypt’s first-choice keeper for much of the past decade, but his role at Ahly has diminished with the emergence of Mostafa Shobeir.

Shobeir has also become Hassan’s preferred goalkeeper during the World Cup campaign, starting all five matches despite El-Shennawy remaining part of the squad.