"Cairo International Airport customs officials discovered that my travel permits were forged, which drove me to submit my original military exemption papers to prove my innocence, so they let me go, but not in time to catch the team,” Abdel-Moenem told Filgoal.com exclusively.

The Ittihad trio asked the same mediator to finish their travel permits from the Egyptian military, but later discovered that he forged the documents.

Taher and Sharaf decided to retreat after watching the Egyptian customs catch Abdul-Moenem’s forged papers, given that they asked the same mediator to process the papers for them.

Abdel-Moenem is scheduled to leave for Rwandan capital, Kigali on Saturday morning, even with his chances of participation slimming down given his anticipated fatigue after his long trip.