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The star of the Egyptian national team, Mido, will miss the final of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament - after a public conflict with the team's coach Hassan Shehata during the semi-final match against Senegal, Tottenham's striker was expelled from the team for six months.
The 22-year-old Mido, who belongs to the Roma club and plays in England on loan, was substituted in Tuesday's Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match against Senegal and angry about H. Shehata's decision, he attacked the coach so much that his teammates had to separate him from the coach.
However, the coach's decision paid off - instead of the star player, the striker Amr Zaki scored the winning goal and helped Egypt secure a spot in the final, where on Friday the tournament hosts will meet the Ivory Coast team.
On Tuesday evening, the leadership of the Egyptian Football Association hastily convened and decided to expel the player from the team and disqualify him for six months. According to Shehata's assistant Shawki Gharibo, the team can do without Mido, and now the Egyptians should focus on the final.
"The Egyptian national team is not just Mido. He is only one player, and the team consists of 23 players. Now we have to forget our problems and focus on the final. The most important thing is what we will do in the final. The team's preparation is much more important than any disputes between Shehata and Mido. The coach will solve this task, and there is nothing to talk about," S. Gharibo said.
Nevertheless, such an official decision did not receive support from the player's teammates in the Egyptian national team. The team's 39-year-old veteran Hossam Hassanas stated that such a decision is too strict and Mido would be really helpful in the final, which was supported by the team's goalkeeper Mohamed Barakat.
"I think such a decision is exaggerated. We needed Mido in the final. I have known him since we were kids, he just wants to play. He wanted to apologize for what happened, but people from the FA blew the problem up. It's not only Mido who lost because of this - the entire team, fans, and the Egyptian Football Association lost. People may think I'm wrong, but it also happened with other great players who got annoyed. We created a problem for ourselves, and I'm not happy about it," said H. Hassanas.
One of the best African players of last year, M. Barakat, also admitted that the team needs Mido: "The fact that he's not here makes us weaker, but we have to accept that Mido won't be here. We need to trust ourselves, and any player replacing Mido must do their job well. We are all disappointed, we need Mido because he can play in any position. We have Hossam Hassanas, Emad Moteab, and Amr Zaki - whether Mido is with us or not, if Allah wishes, we will still win the Africa Cup of Nations."
