The announcement made by ENPPI club that they promoted Hani Ramzi to replace head coach Rainer Zobel and demoting the German manager to take on a peripheral role only proves the club has taken a wrong path. In order for any system to run properly, there must be regulations; but in Egyptian football anything is possible, no matter how unethical or illegal it is. ENPPI limited Zobel's role to avoid paying the penalty for sacking him although everyone in the country knows very well that this action means the club was showing the veteran manager the door. The Arab Champions League finalists said Zobel will occupy an 'invented' position that will see him 'supervising the football team and planning for the future'; a position, which to my knowledge, has never existed in Egyptian football. Although under Zobel ENPPI have endured their worst run since their promotion to the Egyptian Premier League, the results are no excuse for the wealthy petroleum-company club for not paying him his due money and setting him free. ENPPI aren't the first club to take such a despicable action.
In order for any system to run properly, there must be regulations; but in Egyptian football anything is possible, no matter how unethical or illegal it is. Cairo giants Zamalek had a long financial and legal battle with Brazilian coach Carlos Cabral and a current feud with Portuguese manager Manuel Cajuda. In the case of Cajuda, Zamalek announced in all media channels that the Portuguese has been relieved of his duties before the team's Arab Champions League match against Kuwaiti side Qadsia. As a result, Cajuda did not travel with Zamalek to Kuwait but to everyone's surprise, the club took advantage of the situation and filed a report to the police to document his refusal to link up with the team, claiming that they did not sack him officially. This incident will forever remain a black mark in Zamalek's history, and as we all so with ENPPI, will open the door for other Egyptian clubs to act in such a disgraceful way. One can only hope that the Egyptian Higher Council of Sport and the Egyptian Football Association take a stand against such conduct by Egyptian clubs to set a standard for ethics which, at least in sports, should take a more significant stance than business.
