Cairo-
The controversy continues in Egypt after the announcement of the Egyptian squash champion, Mohamed El-Shorbagy, ranked third in the world, for the England team instead of Egypt in the upcoming tournaments.
Reactions in Egypt to the case varied, while some described what the player had done as a "betrayal of the homeland", some wished him success, and media professionals demanded to find out the reasons why individual game stars abandoned playing for Egypt, and to save the rest of them.
And the former world squash star, Ahmed Barada, blew up a resounding surprise by announcing that a number of Egyptian players are on their way to follow in El Shorbagy's footsteps.
And the English Squash Federation announced - yesterday, Monday - that Al-Shorbagy, the former world number one and one of the most titled squash players, moved from representing Egypt to playing with England.
According to this announcement, Al-Shorbagy, ranked third in the world, who has lived in Bristol since he was 15 years old, will compete in the professional rounds and the International Squash Federation Championships under the flag of England.
𝙈
🗣 @MoElshorbagy: “The opportunity to represent England is extremely exciting and I will give it my all playing under the English flag.”
Read the full story 👉 https://t.co/CMsavmDhLh#sport #squash pic.twitter.com/tHIrhIatO2
— 🏴 England Squash (@englandsr) June 6, 2022
shocking surprise
In turn, former Egyptian world champion Ahmed Barada revealed that El Shorbagy may not be the last squash player to give up playing for the Egypt team.
He explained - in a telephone interview to Sada Al-Balad channel - that he spoke with a number of senior Egyptian players, and that a number of them are on the way to repeat the experience of Al-Shorbagy, in light of the difficulties they face with managing the game in Egypt.
Barrada stressed that something is wrong with Egyptian squash and cast a shadow over the elements of the game, calling on officials to work to contain the players.
country betrayal
The media and former Egyptian football star Ahmed Hossam Mido launched a severe attack on Al-Shorbagy, saying that any player leaving his country and representing another country, in any game, not just squash, is "a betrayal of his country."
Mido stressed - through his "Remontada" program - that Egypt has a preference over everyone, and that any person, no matter how far away from it, remains attached to it, and that Al-Shorbagy's decision is wrong from his point of view, even if he intends to live in Britain for the end of his life.
Commenting on the player's need for moral support, Mido asked, "Is there a greater honor than that the President of the Republic honors you, Shorbagy? This is your greatest honor. Is there more moral support than that?"
The Egyptian newspaper Al-Dustour published "Infographic" about the details of El-Shorbagy's announcement of playing for the English national team, under the title "I sold Egypt for how much?"
In reference to betrayal.
"Pumpkin is more important than money"
Not all of the Egyptian media was against Al-Shorbagy's decision, as the media Amr Adib expressed his understanding of what the player had done, stressing that the Egyptian Federation had not offered anything to the player for many years, and mocked the Federation's statement about what he had provided to Al-Shorbagy, especially his help in obtaining a new passport after He lost his passport in Hong Kong.
Adeeb said - through his "Al-Hekaya" program - that Egypt did not provide much to El-Shorbagy, except for meager financial aid that does not cover even a small part of his expenses, and that Egypt will not be able to provide what England will provide to the player.
And he continued, "The man is 30 years old and does not want to play in the name of Egypt. We say salvation and thank you. Go, you are free, go see your life, and we wish you good luck."
The media called Lamis Al-Hadidi - through her program "A Last Word" - to take an objective look at the issue of Al-Shorbagy, who was not the only one, but was preceded by other champions in wrestling, athletics and weightlifting.
She added that sports need attention from the state, saying, "It is possible that we, as a developing country, do not have sufficient budgets, but we need justice, attention, and kindness to people. There are more important needs than money, because the latter can come from the private sector."
Al-Hadidi called on the Minister of Sports to study the matter objectively and transparently and to enter the corridors of the federations and assess the conditions within all the tennis, wrestling and weightlifting federations, and said, "We have great talents who cannot run and walk."
Lamis Al-Hadidi: I hope the Minister of Sports will study this file for professional players.. What is happening in the Weightlifting, Tennis and Squash Federation# Final_Word
— A final word with Lamis Al Hadidi (@KelmaAkhira) June 6, 2022
El Shorbagy in Parliament
Al-Shorbagy’s case reached the Egyptian parliament, and Mahmoud Hussein, the head of the Youth and Sports Committee of the Council, said that the committee will hold an emergency meeting in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Youth and the Squash Federation to find out the reasons for the player joining the England team and leaving Egypt.
And the Egyptian newspaper "Al-Shorouk" quoted Hussein's assertion that there was a state of resentment that dominated all members of the youth committee, as some of them confirmed that they would submit requests for briefing, on the reasons for the naturalization of the squash player.
The head of the Youth Committee also confirmed that a full report will be prepared on that incident, and in the event that any failure of those responsible for the game in Egypt is discovered, the official will be held accountable, noting that the committee will discuss this problem at its nearest meeting.
Al-Shorbagy - who surprised the squash world by deciding to play in the name of England instead of Egypt - said that "the bad treatment of some individuals is the reason behind the decision, and that the most difficult thing in this was the children who were informed of the decision."
Al-Shorbagy explained - in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) - that he had been thinking about this matter for 3 or 4 months, and that his mind was asking him for something and his heart for something else.
The 31-year-old added, "The decision will help me complete my remaining years in squash. As you get older, you need a special coach and a special doctor in every tournament."
He continued, "This was not available before, but England will give me this and in my worst season, I did not reach the quarter-finals in a tournament from October until May when I finally managed to reach the final of the world championship."
🗣 “I'm really excited that I will be representing England, I have lived in England more than half my life.”@moelshorbagy discusses the reasons why he has switched allegiance to England 🏴
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) June 6, 2022
On the other hand, the Egyptian Squash Federation said that it had supported the player Mohamed El-Shorbagy throughout his career so far, and that he expected El-Shorbagy to seek to represent England, as he lived there for more than half his life, and that “the player was residing in England until he reached the age of reconciliation to obtain an exemption.” final term from military service, as he did not perform it after graduation.
In an official statement, the federation confirmed that the player was receiving many financial contributions in accordance with the regulations issued by ministerial decisions from the Ministry of Youth and Sports over the past years.
As well as paying the annual subscription fees to the Professional Players Organization (PSA), and the player was honored by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and was awarded the Sports Medal of the First Class.
The statement stressed that Egypt has many talented players, as evidenced by the presence of 6 Egyptian players among the top 10 players in the world in the international classification, and they are all professionals.