Morocco's Difaa complain to FIFA over Egyptian coach Shehata's 'escape'

Ahram Online , Sunday 23 Nov 2014

Hassan Shehata dumped Difaa El Jadidi for a return to Arab Contractors, amid suggestions he will be Egypt's new coach, but the Moroccan club goes to FIFA

Coach Hassan Shehata
Coach Hassan Shehata (Photo: Al-Ahram)

Moroccan side Difaa El Jadidi have lodged a complaint with FIFA against Egyptian coach Hassan Shehata after he abandoned his current contract with them and signed with Egyptian side Arab Contractors last week.

"Our side respected all subjects of Shehata's contracts and Shehata has no right to sign to any other club as he is still engaged with us," the club's finance director Abdel-Latif Al-Meqredy was quoted as saying in Al-Ahram's daily Arabic newspaper on Sunday.

The 65-year-old tactician, who joined Difaa in June, claimed in a news conference Thursday that he hasn't received his payments in three months.

"I was surprised when I heard Shehata signed with the Contractors," Said Qabil, the club's president, said.

Moroccan reports insist Shehata "escaped" after a poor run in the country's domestic competitions, telling the club he was returning to Cairo for a quick vacation.

Shehata's Egyptian assistant Tarek Mostafa is leading Difaa as a caretaker coach until the end of the season.

Some reports suggested that Shehata's unpaid salary means more money on hand for the club to deliver the players' benefits amid an ongoing financial crisis.

Shehata previously coached Arab Contractors in 2003, a turning point in his coaching career, guiding the team to win both the Egypt Cup and Super Cup in the 2003/2004 season when they were still a second-division side.

His managerial career has been remarkable, having guided Egypt to three consecutive African Cup of Nations titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010, an unprecedented feat on the continent.

He is currently linked with a return to the Pharaohs lead after the dismissal of his former assistant Shawky Gharib following the team's third disqualification to the Africa Cup of Nations.
 

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