Ahli suspend Abdul-Hamid

Ahli goalkeeper Amir Abdul-Hamid has been suspended for an indefinite period after swearing at coach Hossam Al-Badri, the club said on Sunday.

كتب : Hatem Maher

الأحد، 18 أكتوبر 2009 - 14:56
Ahli goalkeeper Amir Abdul-Hamid has been suspended for an indefinite period after swearing at coach Hossam Al-Badri, the club said on Sunday.

"Abdul-Hamid's behavior was unacceptable," Ahli said in a statement on their official website.

"He made offensive remarks against the technical staff members after being left out of the team's squad for Monday's league game against Mansoura.

"The club can not tolerate such actions and thus, Abdul-Hamid will be banned for an indefinite period and will have his dues suspended."

The incident is likely to further strain the relationship between the 30-year-old and Ahli fans.

Abdul-Hamid has been consistently criticized for failing to impress after becoming Ahli's first-choice goalie following the sudden departure of Essam Al-Hadari to Swiss side Sion in February 2008.

A string of poor displays prompted the Red Devils' former coach Manuel Jose to rely on Ramzi Saleh in the latter stages of last season but the Palestinian guardian was hardly convincing.

Ahmed Abdul-Monem, who used to be a third-choice keeper, is now the regular starter for Ahli.

Inappropriate Reply

Abdul-Hamid, who is growing increasingly frustrated with his lack of opportunities in the starting line-up, does not believe he committed a fatal mistake.

"I was stunned to find out that I was dropped for the Mansoura game without any reasons," he told FilGoal.com.

"I then asked Al-Badri for explanation but he replied in an inappropriate way.

"What happened is down to my enthusiasm to play a role in Ahli's victories, I'm very sad to have been out of action for such a long time."

Ahli recently said they were looking for a new keeper, identifying several targets like Ismaili's Mohamed Sobhi and Ittihad's Al-Hani Soliman.