Egypt FA member denies Salah had a hand in Hossam Hassan's exit

Did Mohamed Salah push Hossam Hassan out of the Egypt job? One member of the Egyptian Football Association says absolutely not.

Mustafa Abu Zahra, a member of the federation, made the claim in an interview with Egypt's CBC channel. He rejected the idea that the team's captain and biggest star had any role in the coach's departure.

What happened?

A few days ago, the Egyptian FA thanked Hossam Hassan and his brother Ibrahim, who was the team manager. It handed the national team's technical duties to Ali Maher.

Hassan had been appointed head coach of the Pharaohs (Egypt's national team) in July 2025, with Ibrahim alongside him.

The exit set off plenty of talk about the dressing room, and about Salah in particular.

What did Abu Zahra say?

He said the players backed the coach. "From Salah to the youngest player, whatever Hossam Hassan told them, they did," he said, adding that he never sensed a single unhappy player.

He also said Salah and the team leaders played a big part in Hassan's work. "Nobody succeeds alone," he said.

Abu Zahra described Salah as professional, polite and down to earth, someone who is committed whenever he is with the squad. According to him, Salah never speaks negatively about Hassan and would say the coach gave him everything.

What about the silence and the photo?

Some fans noticed that Salah did not post a farewell message to Hassan. Goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir and players Mohamed Hany, Emam Ashour and Mostafa Ziko did.

Then there was a photo Salah shared, showing him sticking out his tongue and making a victory sign. Abu Zahra said it was not aimed at Hassan. In his words, it was simply a celebration of Salah's club, Trabzonspor, winning in the Turkish league.

He also said Salah was due to join the camp regardless, and that there was never any thought he would not show up.

What's next?

Ali Maher now holds the technical duties for the national team. The federation has not said more about the reasons for Hassan's exit in the material available so far.