Ahli goalkeeping coach Tarek Soliman revealed that Sherif Ekrami played the Champions League semi-final with Coton Sport through injury, five days after being forced off the pitch in Egypt's 6-1 drubbing in Ghana. Ekrami was key in helping Ahli qualify for the Champions League final following a 7-6 penalty shootout win over Coton in the return leg, where he denied the competition's top-scorer Alexis Yougouda Kada from the spot. "Ekrami played against Coton despite suffering an injury sustained during Egypt's 6-1 defeat to Ghana," Soliman told Ahli's official website. "Even so, he managed to appear in good shape in such a decisive game. "Ekrami didn't escape the Ghana game; he was injured and didn't fully recover before playing against Coton. "He is not that type of player that would escape matches; he insisted to play against Coton despite still suffering pain." Ekrami's participation against the Cameroonian side raised doubts over whether the keeper had deliberately faked injury after conceding four goals with Egypt against Ghana last week, at the time the Black Stars looked en route to claiming a big win.
