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FIFPRO's statement, which triggered a strong response from the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), warns that players moving to clubs in Egypt have "a high chance of resulting in legal proceedings."
The global representative body for professional footballers, FIFPRO, has cautioned foreign players against signing contracts and joining clubs in Egypt.
The advisory aims to guard players from the alleged frequent contractual disputes and abusive behaviour by club officials.
FIFPRO's statement, which triggered a strong response from the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), warns that players moving to clubs in Egypt have "a high chance of resulting in legal proceedings."
"In recent times FIFPRO has seen a spike in labour conflicts in Egypt,” a FIFPRO statement read.
“This concerns both the non-payment of salaries and abusive behaviour such as the confiscation of passports, forgery, and blackmail.”
FIFPRO further advises players against surrendering their passports to club officials, even if they are told it is necessary to obtain a residency or work permit.
The retention of travel documents has been used as a means to force players into signing termination agreements.
The organization also urges players not to sign blank contracts and emphasizes the importance of retaining a signed version of the agreement, specifying the correct currency.
In response, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) firmly rejected FIFPRO's allegations and expressed frustration with their statement.
The EFA's assertion aims to counter FIFPRO's claims and emphasizes that the reported incidents are isolated occurrences.
The EFA stated, "We can confirm that even if some incidents occurred, they represent individual cases that do not apply to all Egyptian clubs.”
“We have 268 foreign players in different tiers and over the past four years, we have only received two complaints regarding passport withholding. Both matters were immediately resolved after our intervention."
However, several Egyptian clubs, including Zamalek, Al-Ismaily, and Pharco, have faced significant fines and transfer bans in recent years due to non-payment of salaries and breaches of contracts.
In 2020, two Uganda midfielders Khalid Aucho and Taddeo Lwanga sensationally had to fire fight their way out of contracts with Egyptian top flight clubs Misr el Makassa and Tanta SC respectively.
Lwanga filed for termination of his contract in July 2020, a year into the three-year contract after going seven months without pay, with Tanta also defaulting on the agreed sign on fees.
Aucho was also forced into a mutual termination of his contract at El Makassa, after the club defaulted on payment of his salary arrears worth up to UGX 300M (approx. USD 80,000).
These episodes were preceded by Joel Madondo’s cry for help after he was forsaken by Moroccan club Wydad Casablanca.
Last month, FIFA ordered Egyptian club Smouha SC to pay Nigerian forward, Junior Ajayi $70,000 (USD 260 million), after he dragged the club to FIFA for abandoning him after he picked up an injury while playing for the club.
While in January, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg resigned from his role as the head of refereeing at EFA after he went two months minus payment of his £32,000 salary, as well as receiving intimidation from club chairmen.
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