There was plenty of controversy during and after the CAF Champions League Group B clash between Egypt’s Al Ahly and Sudanese champions Al-Hilal that took place in Omdurman which ended in a 1-0 result in favor of the Hilal. Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy reacted angrily to a perceived incident against central defender Mohamed Abdelmonem which saw the Egypt national team shot stopper engaged in a shoving match with a member of Hilal’s medical staff. El Shenawy continued the drama after the final whistle by making more attempts to seek out the medical member and engaging in more pushing and confrontation.
An observer from CAF was at the match and the African footballing body pledged to investigate the dispute further, stating that the observer saw potential violations. Ahly announced they filed a complaint accusing Hilal of several violations before and after the match, claiming that Hilal supporters invaded the pitch while the current Egyptian Premier League leaders trained and that the Sudanese club allowed 1,000 supporters into the Al-Hilal Stadium despite CAF’s requirement that the match be played behind closed doors.
El Shenawy’s angry reaction during the match was in response to a perceived incident that the Hilal medical staff member attacked Abdelmonem with “a medical instrument”, something Ahly also cited in their complaint as well as that the staff member stayed on the bench despite apparently receiving a red card. Ahly also accused Hilal of failing to provide suitable safety precautions for the club’s travel as well as the aforementioned incident at training. The Egyptian giants are expecting action from CAF before taking part in their next CAFCL fixture, a highly anticipated home match against South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns on February 25.
Egyptian outlet KingFut has more on the complaint in the link below.
