An angry exchange of words involving Argentine soccer coach Ramon Diaz between two heavyweights of Egyptian soccer — Saudi Arabian sports boss Turki al-Sheikh and Mahmoud Al-Khatib, the head of the Al-Ahly soccer team — has opened a Pandora’s box of parliamentary inquiries and legal procedures about the finances of Egypt’s popular soccer team.
The crisis escalated sharply June 3 when Sheikh announced his intention to file a complaint with the Egyptian attorney general accusing Khatib and the Al-Ahly board of misusing his donations, some 260 million Egyptian pounds ($14.5 million), which had been earmarked for the club’s development.