Gouna's Zied El-Seheifi, 14, talking to Ahly's Hossam Ashour (snapshot from TV)
Gouna's football director Ahmed El-Seheifi has said that his club does not feel ashamed of the 13-0 hammering they received from Ahly in the Egypt Cup, as it was a deliberate attempt to embarrass the Egyptian Football Association.
“We wanted to send a message to the Egyptian FA over the way they are organising the game in the country. It is total chaos and we wanted to embarrass them,” El-Seheifi told a sports programme after the game.
The Red Sea-based club has been relegated from the Premier League after finishing in the 16th place in the table. However, they have contested the participation of Dakhleya, a team belonging to the Ministry of Interior, for fielding ineligible players during some games of the season.
“We got nothing from complaining so we filed a suit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and we are waiting for the hearing,” El-Seheifi added.
After the relegation, most of Gouna's stars, along with German coach Rainer Zobel, quit the team to seek new clubs.
Gouna fielded a youth team against Ahly, including 14-year-old Zied El-Seheifi, son of the football director, who made his debut during the game.
A photo of the teenager, who came up in the 38th minute, walking around the pitch shaking hands with Ahly players, went viral on Thursday.
“I am a fan of Ahly and I was delighted to see their stars on the pitch. They were very nice to me and kept and encouraging me throughout the game. It was a great feeling; that’s why I was happy with each goal they scored, although I also felt sorry for my team,” Zied said, after exchanging jerseys with Ahly midfielder Ahmed Fathi following the match.
His father said that his son's participation sent a message and it apparently was well-received.
Meanwhile coach Gamal El-Said launched a fierce attack on the Egyptian FA for playing the knock-out stages of Egypt Cup way after the end of the regular season.
“The Egyptian FA is a failure and cannot even organise a competition. How can I play a competitive game when the season officially ended several weeks ago and all my players have already left?” El-Said commented after the game.
The Egyptian Premier League ended in mid-July but Ahly and Zamalek played a handful of postponed games until 4 August.
The Egyptian FA have hit back at Gouna officials and launched an investigation into the game.
“Gouna made a mockery of the Egypt Cup; however there is nothing that we could do as nothing in the regulations prevents them from fielding a youth team,” said the executive director of the Egyptian FA, Tharwat Souelam.
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