Egyptian Football Association headquarters
"The EFA is extremely frustrated with the statement issued by FIFPRO, which contains several erroneous pieces of information. We can confirm that even if some incidents occurred, they represent individual cases that do not apply to all Egyptian clubs," the EFA said in a statement published on their Facebook account late on Wednesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, FIFPRO issued a warning against signing with Egyptian clubs, citing alleged contractual disputes and abusive behavior.
The Egyptian football governing body has stressed that they have a unified template for players' contracts, which has been approved by FIFA and FIFPRO and has been in effect since 2020.
The statement added that there are also conflict and dispute proceedings that guarantee the rights of the parties and have been approved by FIFA since 2020.
"We have 268 foreign players in different tiers, and over the past four years, we have only received two complaints regarding passport withholding, and the matter was immediately resolved after our intervention.
"We strongly object to your statement, especially since the Egyptian Professional Footballers Association (EPFA), located in Egypt and monitoring the situation, hasn't sent any of the comments included in your statement to the EFA."
However, Magdi Abdel-Ghani, the president of the EPFA, has admitted that several infringements have occurred over the past few years.
"Some of these problems happen. Several clubs, like Zamalek, Ismaily, and Pharco, have already been sanctioned. There is a lack of cooperation between us and the Egyptian Pro League (EPL). We must establish competent committees to defend the players' rights," he told Ahram Online.
Zamalek, Ismaily and Pharco have been hit recently with hefty fines and transfer bans due to non payment of salaries and breach of contracts.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the EPL expressed its disappointment with FIFPRO's claims.
"We take the welfare of our players very seriously. We have a number of policies and procedures in place to ensure that players are treated fairly and that their rights are protected," the statement read.
The EPL stated that they look forward to working closely with FIFPRO in the future to foster a safe and conducive environment for professional football in Egypt.
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