Outrage as Former Egyptian Player Expresses Admiration for Assault on Moroccan Footballer

Rabat – Appearing as a guest on the Egyptian football program “Kalam Fel Kora” on July 24, the former Egyptian footballer Moataz Eno spoke of his admiration for the assault committed by the Egyptian player Hussein El-Shahat, who plays for Al Ahly SC, on Morocco’s Mohamed Chibi, who plays for Egypt’s Pyramids FC.

A video recently went viral on social media showing El-Shahat uttering foul words at Chibi while holding the player from his jersey and eventually slapping him right in the face.

Eno, who confirmed his admiration for El-Shahat’s beating of the Pyramids’ player following reports of the shameful scene, was widely condemned, with even some fans from Al Ahly denouncing his comments as insensitive and irresponsible.

“Frankly, El-Shahat made a mistake, but I liked the slap,” Eno had said as he spoke of his admiration for what he appeared to describe as El-Shahat’s manly approach to an altercation. But Eno’s remarks left the rest of the guests in the program shocked by his “wrong” attitude.

Faced with opposition from the other guests, Eno tried to explain that he was talking about the way the slapping had happened, not the act of slapping itself. “I liked the way he slapped him and how El-Shahat’s hand moved,” he said.

To further pull himself out of the embarrassing situation, Eno desperately tried to at least win the sympathy of Al Ahly fans by expressing his dissatisfaction with Chibi’s behavior.

Taking place following Pyramids FC’s 3-0 victory over Al Ahly, the incident led to a fight involving other players, which required staff members from both teams to step in and defuse the situation.

In the aftermath of the incident, Chibi took to social media to reveal what El-Shahat told him before the altercation.

“Prior to today’s incident and before the slap, there was a threat to break my leg, where he said, ‘If you had started the match, I would have broken your leg,’” said Chibi indicating that these threats could endanger his football career.