Zamalek’s Benin striker goes AWOL

Hatem Maher, Friday 22 Jun 2012

Razak Omotoyossi declines to return to Egypt after fulfilling international duty with Benin

Razak Omotoyossi

Zamalek’s Benin striker Razak Omotoyossi has failed to report back to Egypt as scheduled, fuelling speculation about his future with the Cairo club.

The 26-year-old was due to return to Egypt last Monday but reports suggested he did not show up in protest at unpaid wages.

Most of the Egyptian cash-strapped clubs have been suffering the dire consequences of football stoppage since February’s infamous Port Said disaster, which led to the cancellation of the Premier League.

“We sent the airline tickets and entry visa to Omotoyossi but he did not respond,” Zamalek’s official Hamada Anwar was quoted as saying by Ahram’s Arabic-language sports website.

Omotoyossi has excelled with Benin in their first two games in the World Cup qualifiers, scoring the winner in the opening 1-0 victory over Mali before notching up his side’s only goal in the 1-1 draw at Rwanda.

He has made a fine impact since joining Zamalek in October last year, scoring four competitive goals since.

However, he stirred controversy when he was handed a four-match African ban by the Confederation of African Football (CAF)  after remonstrating with the referee during a Champions League game.

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