CAIRO: Amr Zaki remained tight-lipped over Ahmed "Mido Hossam s recent accusations after "receiving instructions from Egypt coach Hassan Shehata not to respond. Mido claimed on Tuesday that his Wigan teammate tried to spread a false rumor about the former s allegedly furious reaction to being benched in the 1-1 draw with Zambia. Mido vehemently denied such outrage as he blasted his compatriot, who refused to respond, citing Shehata s request as the main reason behind his silence. Amr Zaki refuses to respond to the accusations against him after receiving instructions from the coach not to respond and because he is not willing to be engaged in such polemics, a statement on Zaki s official site stated. I ve never raised any problem and I will never do because I respect my teammates, the technical crew and I respect myself before everything, the on-loan Zamalek striker added. The rivalry between Zaki and Mido emerged in the 2006 African Cup of Nations, when the latter reacted angrily to being replaced by the ex-ENPPI man in the semis against Senegal. Eventually, Zaki scored the winner with his first touch of the ball, while Mido was the villain after his touchline bust-up with Shehata, who handed the 26-year-old a lengthy suspension from the national team.
