Hossam Ghaly was naturally happy after being cleared of doping charges but he said he was even happier that he managed to 'silence' Egyptian football critics. The Egyptian midfielder, who plays for Saudi side Nassr, looked on the verge of being given a lengthy ban after testing positive for a banned substance following a cup tie with Hilal in February. However, a second doping test in a German anti-doping laboratory cleared him of any wrongdoing. The Saudi Football Federation has recently given him the green light to return to action after several weeks of uncertainty over his future. "I regained my self-confidence after proving all the accusations wrong," Ghaly was quoted as saying by Saudi paper Riyadh. "My innocence has also silenced the people and critics who fiercely attacked Egyptian football. "It was very painful for me to see those critics doubt Egypt's Nations Cup triumph." Ghaly was a key member of Egypt's squad that clinched an unprecedented third consecutive Nations Cup title in Angola in January, missing just one game in the biennial tournament. He joined Nassr from English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in January 2009. He was linked with a move back to his boyhood club Ahli on several occasions but he expressed his desire to remain at Nassr.
