Egyptian national team goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy was surprised by a court decision from the Court of Appeal to seize his assets in relation to a payment of 1,650,000 Egyptian pounds owed to his former agent Walid Abdel-Hadi. El-Shennawy, 32, is currently participating with the Egyptian team in the tenth edition of the Arab Cup being held in Qatar.
Egyptian media reported that El-Shennawy received a call from his family on Wednesday informing him that an official had arrived at his home in the Fifth Settlement to seize his property due to the financial penalty owed to his agent, amounting to 1,600,000 Egyptian pounds. Walid Abdel-Hadi revealed to "Youm7" newspaper that he was El-Shennawy's agent when he transferred from Petrojet to Al Ahly in 2016, signing a five-year contract valued at 16 million pounds, which entitled him to a 10% commission, equivalent to 1.6 million pounds, in addition to 50,000 pounds as a penalty clause.
Abdel-Hadi continued that he obtained a final ruling after the appeal affirming his right to receive 1,650,000 pounds, and he paid the necessary costs to enforce the ruling. The official indeed went to El-Shennawy's villa to seize his private assets in compliance with the ruling issued in his favor.
For his part, Mohamed Waseel, El-Shennawy's lawyer, denied the existence of any final ruling to seize any of his client's assets. He stated in an interview with "Masrawy": "The ruling being circulated is not final; we have deposited the amount owed by El-Shennawy with the court and are following all procedures." He added: "We respect the rulings of the judiciary and trust in its integrity and follow its procedures, while we reserve our rights to take necessary actions against any defamation we face."
The lawyer confirmed that there is no evidence proving the ruling against any of El-Shennawy's assets, and the case is still ongoing. In this context, the manager of the Egyptian national football team, Wael Gomaa, held a meeting with El-Shennawy after the court's decision, urging him to focus on the upcoming matches for the "Pharaohs" and not to pay attention to the ruling affecting his assets.
El-Shennawy confirmed that he has left the matter of the ruling regarding his assets to his lawyer, noting that his focus is now on the national team in the Arab Cup with the goal of winning it. The Egyptian team topped Group D with 7 points, ahead of Algeria in second place based on the "fair play" criteria after they tied in points, goals scored, goal difference, and direct confrontations.
The Egyptian team has a quarter-final match scheduled against Jordan on Saturday at 15:00 GMT at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar.
