Egyptian FA president Samir Zaher threatened to punish Zamalek chairman Mamdouh Abbas for pounding away at the football governing body. Abbas panned the FA's officials in the wake of the infamous saga of Harras Hodoud forward Ahmed Eid. Egypt international Eid was given permission to feature in Hodoud's 2-1 win over Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League, after serving a one-match suspension. The talented front-man should have been banned for a couple of games for receiving a straight red card. Zamalek filed a complaint to the FA, who eventually upheld Hodoud's victory and took no action to compensate for Eid's ineligibility. Consequently, Abbas lashed out at the FA during a press conference at the Zamalek's headquarters, branding its officials as 'rats'.
Zaher sounded his disgruntlement with Abbas' fierce attack in another news conference one day later. "We are not going to reply to this nonsense, and such insults could well be met with sanctions," he stated. On the other hand, the eagerly-awaited press conference, which was set to be held in January to unveil facts about the unfortunate incidents that followed Egypt's 1-0 loss to Algeria in last month's World Cup decider in Sudan, was indefinitely put off. "We have received a letter from the Foreign Ministry, demanding the postponement of the conference in order to cool down the tension," he said. Algerian hooligans reportedly attacked Egyptian fans in the street of Sudan after the playoff game, and several supporters were injured in the process.
