CAIRO: Al Ahly keeper Essam Al-Hadari traveled to Switzerland early on Thursday in order to complete his move to FC Sion against the will of his club.
According to the club s website, an emergency meeting will be held in the next few hours in order to discuss the matter. The 35-year old keeper is under contract until 2010.
I had news that the player took the flight this morning. I made some calls and found out that the news is correct, Al Ahly s assistant manager Hossam Al-Badri said.
I told the football committee and a meeting will be held very soon, he was quoted as saying.
FC Sion made a $400,000 offer 10 days ago for the 2008 Nations Cup keeper of the tournament but the offer was turned down by Al Ahly s board. The Swiss side has made an official request to the Egyptian Football Association asking for Hadari s license.
However, a source close to Hadari said the goal keeper’s status is legal and blamed Al Ahly’ “mistreatment for encouraging him to make such a move.
Al Ahly treat him badly. He earns poor salary because the club do not value him highly, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FilGoal.com.
Al-Hadari is the best keeper in Africa; he should be treated properly by Al Ahly.
According to the source, the 35-year-old guardian will invoke a new FIFA rule in order to complete a move to Swiss side FC Sion.
The rule allows players over 28, who have spent more than two years at their clubs, to buy out the rest of their contract.
However, the player who wants to leave should give a 15-day notice, which wasn t the case with Al-Hadari.
The transfer window in Switzerland shuts in February, unlike most of European countries. Sion have sent a fax to Al Ahly requesting Al-Hadari s ITC.
Al-Hadari was stripped of Al Ahly captaincy in 2005 after committing naïve mistakes in a Champions League game against Algerian side USMA.
Al-Hadari deserved to regain Al Ahly’s skipper armband because he did nothing wrong, the source concluded.
