Egypt wrestling escape cases referred to public prosecutor

The Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports has referred two cases involving wrestlers who reportedly left their national teams during international events to the Public Prosecution, saying sporting achievement does not exempt anyone from legal or administrative responsibility.

The cases concern Mohamed Mostafa Ali El Shamy, who left the Egyptian wrestling delegation during a transit stop in Rome, and Ziad Haggag, who went missing while competing at the World Youth Wrestling Championships in Slovakia.

The ministry said the referrals were intended to establish the circumstances of both incidents and determine any legal responsibility. It added that representing Egypt internationally requires full compliance with the relevant rules and regulations.

The Egyptian Olympic Committee has also suspended Ibrahim Adel Al-Attar, head of the wrestling delegation at the Mediterranean Games, and referred him to its Ethics Committee. The decision followed the incident involving El Shamy during the delegation’s return journey to Cairo after the Mediterranean Games had concluded.

El Shamy became the second Egyptian wrestler to leave a national delegation at a different tournament in less than three days.

In a statement, the Ministry of Youth and Sports said: “In a step confirming that sporting achievement does not exempt anyone from responsibility, and that representing Egypt at international events is linked to full compliance with regulations and rules, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has decided to refer the incident involving wrestler Mohamed Mostafa Ali El Shamy leaving the Egyptian wrestling delegation during its transit in Rome to the Public Prosecution to take whatever legal action it deems appropriate. The incident involving wrestler Ziad Haggag leaving during the World Youth Wrestling Championships in Slovakia has also been referred to the Public Prosecution.

“These measures reflect the ministry’s determination to deal firmly with any incidents affecting the orderly operation of Egyptian delegations during overseas participation, and to establish legal and administrative responsibility, while stressing that the results of investigations must not be pre-empted and that no prior judgments should be issued against any party.

“The Egyptian Olympic Committee had decided to suspend Ibrahim Adel Al-Attar, head of the wrestling delegation, and refer him to its Ethics Committee after preliminary inquiries revealed negligence, a failure of duty and shortcomings in monitoring one of the delegation members.”

The ministry said the El Shamy incident occurred after the wrestling delegation left Taranto airport for Rome with all its members present. The group stopped in Rome to continue its return flight to Cairo.

During the transit period, the head of delegation was expected to keep the team’s passports in his possession. According to the account given, he did not do so. El Shamy’s coach later noticed that the wrestler was missing and attempted to catch up with him, but was unsuccessful. The coach was forced to miss the flight, while El Shamy managed to leave the area occupied by the delegation.

In Haggag’s case, the Ministry of Youth and Sports had previously instructed the Egyptian Wrestling Federation to begin legal procedures, investigate what had happened and prepare a detailed report on the circumstances of the wrestler’s departure during the championships in Slovakia. The case was subsequently referred to the Public Prosecution.

The ministry stressed that the incidents did not diminish the significant performance by Egypt’s wrestlers at the Mediterranean Games. Egypt won seven medals in Taranto: golds for Samar Hamza and Mohamed Hassan; silver medals for Mohamed Farag and Abdelrahman Haitham; and bronze medals for Mawada Badawy, Mostafa Hussein and Shehab El-Din Abdel-Raouf. El Shamy was eliminated in the preliminary rounds.

The ministry said the achievements should be credited to the athletes, while any failure should be addressed through the appropriate administrative and legal processes.

“Representing Egypt is a responsibility before it is an honour,” it said, adding that every member of a sporting delegation has defined duties during competition, after events have ended and until the final member returns home.

“Seven medals brought joy to Egyptian wrestling in Taranto, while two incidents cast a shadow over the picture. But the clearest message is this: achievement does not protect negligence, a medal does not remove responsibility, and only the law can determine where responsibility begins and ends.”