A widespread controversy was sparked after the tragic passing of the Egyptian football player Ahmed Refaat, at the dawn of Saturday, 6th July, at the age of 31, months after suffering from a heart attack during a football match with his team, Modern Future, against Al-Ittihad of Alexandria last March.
Days before his passing away, Refaat was a host in Ibrahim Fayeq’s show broadcasted on “MBC Misr” channel, and he pointed out that he was subjected to injustice by “one of the officials”, explaining that his agent, Nader Shawqi, in well aware of the incident, in addition to Haitham Orabi, Modern Sport FC CEO.
After the funeral, the broadcaster Fayeq hosted the players’ agent, Nader Shawqi in order to unravel the crisis. Everyone was surprised by the successive information about the extreme pressure Refaat was put under, the tampering with official documents, and his imprisonment for 6 months as a punishment for accusing him of conscription evasion.
During the crisis, Ahmed Diab, Egyptian Senate member, former president of Future Club, and current president of the Professional Clubs Association, topped the names responsible for what happened to Refaat. Through reverse search on news published about Refaat, we reveal in this report several points Diab has hidden in his television interview, which were lost in the attempts of different parties to wash their hands of what happened to the player.
Travelling and Participating
Ahmed Diab tried in his statements to convey the idea that the player was decided to participate in the match in Liberia with Future FC in early October 2022, against the champions of Sierra Leone, within the Confederation competitions, at the same time that the club management and technical management team announced that Ahmed Refaat was suspended indefinitely at all games the team shall play, according to the club’s board of directors’ decision.
Not only that; researching the history of Future FC technical and administrative teams, it became clear to us that Ali Maher, the team’s coach, was in the process of finding a substitute for Refaat who had fallen out of the team’s account by transferring to the Emirati Al-Wahda FC.
Indefinite Suspension
It seems that from Diab’s interview last Sunday, and Walid Deibis, the club’s current president, statements, yesterday, Monday, their unwillingness to discuss the club’s board of directors’ decision of suspending Ahmed Refaat and the team’s goalkeeper, known as “Gennish.”
The thing which contradicts with what is said about Refaat travelling with his team to play the Sierra Leone champion match scheduled to be held in Liberia, and that he obtained a ministerial decision according to which he obtained a travel permit from the conscription department to participate in the game.
Reviewing what was published at the time, Abdulzaher Al-Saqqa, Future FC sports director, stated that the club’s board of directors took action regarding that quarrel, which was preventing the players from participating with the team in any matches and imposing a financial penalty on them.
Al-Saqqa stated this through a telephone call at Al-Match TV show on Sada Al-Balad channel, on 18th September, 2022.
Loaned to Al-Wahda before Travelling to Liberia
The second thing hidden from Diab’s and Diebis’s narratives, was the date Refaat signed his contract to be loaned to Emirati Al-Wahda FC, confirming the exemption of the player from the team’s roster in the Confederation match scheduled to be held on 9th October in Liberia.
In 28th December 2022, Al-Bayan Emirati newspaper published an article titled: “Al-Wahda signs Ahmed Refaat the star of the Egyptian national team”, and literally mentioned, “the player signed his contract on loan to Al-Wahda until the end of the current season with the intention of purchasing the player”.
“Kora Plus” website, in the video clip of the morning bulletin published on YouTube, dated 29th September, 2022, broadcasted Rashid Al-Hanai, CEO and Managing Director, that within hours the deal would be completed, 10 days before the Future FC team played the round of 32 match in the Confederation Championship in Liberia.
Indicating that the player was granted the permission to travel no to participate in the match in Liberia, but to obtain a permit enabling him to pass through Cairo Airport to any “transit” country, and from there to the Emirates.
Researching this period, Refaat didn’t participate with his team in the Liberia match scheduled on 9th October, 2022, that accordingly he obtained the ministerial decision and travel permit from the conscription department, designated for travelling to Liberia, also he wasn’t part of the Future FC roster that played the match.
Moreover, Emirati Al-Wahda FC official pages on social media published on 8th October 2022, a day prior to Future and Sierra Leone match, the completion of the procedures related to Ahmed Refaat’s loan contract for one season.
The Emirati newspaper Al-Etihad Sports reported that Ahmed Rifaat’s transfer deal to Al-Wahda Club was estimated at the equivalent of 29.2 million EGP for one season on loan.
Travelling without Refaat
In his interview with Fayeq, Ahmed Diab stated that Refaat left the country legally, and the club has nothing to do with the problem.
Whereas Al-Dostour website published a news report which stated literally, “Future FC arrived in Liberia last Wednesday, 5th October, and Ali Maher, Future’s coach at that time, arranged a substitute for Ahmed Refaat who was loaned to the Emirati Al-Wahda FC”.
On 5th October 2022, the day the team travelled to Liberia, “Kooora” website published a news report titled “Future Leaves to Liberia without Refaat”, the thing proving that the club’s board of directors and technical administration were aware that Refaat won’t join the team’s roster travelling to Liberia, yet this didn’t stop them from using the travel permit issued by the conscription administration to let the player leave Cairo Airport to Ghana, and from there to the Emirates, violating the permit issuance reason.
In the 7th July episode from Al-Match TV show, journalist Hani Hathout mentioned that the ministerial decision issued by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, mentioned literally, “a request to extend the travelling permit of the player Ahmed Al-Sayed Refaat Ahmed, Modern FC player, from the State of Liberia to the United Arab Emirates from 10th October to 20th January, 2022, to spend a football experience period for 3 months”.
Which also violated the contract signed between Future FC and Emirati Al-Wahda FC, as Refaat signed for a one-year loan, and not a 3-months football experience period.
Whereas the Egyptian Ministry of Defence did not ratify the request, nor approve of it, according to Ahmed Refaat’s lawyer.
Refaat in the UAE Pro League
Which confirms that Diab’s statements that the decision to loan Refaat to Al-Wahda was not a coincidence, the thing that the Emirati Al-Wahda FC published on 8th October, 2022, titled “Official Statement _ Ahmed Refaat”; “Al-Wahda Football Club Company announces the completion of all procedures related to hosting Egyptian international player, Ahmed Refaat, coming from the Egyptian Future FC for a period of one season on loan, as part of the club’s efforts to strengthen the ranks of the first team and meet the requirements for success”.
Which was the same day Refaat played with Al-Wahda in its first match as part of the Emirati football league, meaning that they signed him after negotiating with the club and providing the player with his dues, then he was registered with the UAE Federation and Future FC management sent his international card to Al-Wahda FC, before Future team travelled to Liberia, which violates the travel permit obtained to help Refaat leave the country.
On 8th October 2022, “Botolat” website published a news report titled: “Ahmed Refaat assisted in two goals in his first game with Al-Wahda against Al-Nasr in the UAE pro league”, as the player was registered in the team two days before that.
Refaat was registered in Emirati Al-Wahda FC on 6th October 2022, according to “Al-Goal” official account on Facebook, attached to the post Refaat’s registration copy in the club on the UAE Football Association website.
Emirati Statement
What confirms this premeditated intention to violate the travel permit, a member of the board of directors of Emirati Al-Wahda FC, Amer Al-Sa’ari, who was responsible for completing the deal, revealed that “Ahmed Diab” contacted “Al-Sa’ari” personally to confirm that the player’s travel permit will be issued soon, and he continued to communicate with the club to confirm the legality of the player’s situation.
Al-Sa’ari even asked Diab how will the club send Refaat’s dues without obtaining a permit, but Diab assured him that “his papers are in order and ready”.
Reduced Punishment and Facilitations
Answering journalist Ibrahim Fayeq’s question about punishing the player after evading conscription then return to Egypt in January 2023, on his show, “Al-Kora Ma’ Fayeq”, Ahmed Diab, Future FC former president, said, “no punishment was imposed on him, and he returned to playing for Future FC in January 2024, and played last and current season, and all of this after his return from the Emirates, anything else is out of the club’s concern”.
Which was denied after the player’s death on 6th July, 2024, as Mohamed Rashwan, Ahmed Refaat’s lawyer, told Sada Al-Balad channel that he witnessed Ahmed’s professional journey, adding that the player was put under a huge pressure, being under request, after the loan offer he received from Al-Wahda FC, and after the decision of the football experience period for 3 months, and not playing professionally for a year, which required his return after the end of the three-months period included in the request.
Rashwan then confirmed that Refaat failed to find a quick solution, that’s why he had to spend two months detention in the military sports unit, “Tala'ea El Gaish Sporting Club and the military sports unit treated him with respect and allowed him to train, and the punishment was reduced until the crisis was resolved from a legal standpoint”.
On his Instagram account, Ahmed Refaat posted a collection of pictures between December 2023 to February 2024, during training inside the military stadium, proving he served a sentence for evading conscription.
Not only Diab and Deibis lead the scene, but also Ashraf Sobhy, Minister of Youth and Sports, who issued a decision to form an urgent legal committee to investigate the circumstances of Refaat’s death, stressing that the ministry was not a party to what happened.
Until now this crisis is the talk of the streets, until proven who was responsible for Ahmed Refaat’s death, whereas Walid Deibis announced his resignation from the presidency of Modern Future FC after an intervention through a phone call to “Al-Match” TV show hosted by the journalist Hani Hathout.
