UAE FA furious after Egypt friendly is called off
The Football Association has reacted angrily to the postponement of next week’s friendly against Egypt, expressing “strong indignation” regarding the Egyptian Football Association’s advertising agency’s “lack of professionalism”.
The Egypt FA announced late on Saturday that the match, set for Abu Dhabi’s Al Nahyan Stadium on November 20, had been postponed until March, much to the surprise of their UAE counterparts.
The friendly, confirmed last month, was supposed to mark the conclusion of the UAE’s current training camp as they ramp up preparations for the 2019 Asian Cup, which takes place on home soil from January 5-February 1.
The FA said they received official word from Presentation Sports, the agency that handles the Egypt national team, only on Monday, adding: “Based on this, UAE FA express strong indignation over Presentation Sports’ lack of professionalism, particularly following the mutual match agreement and posting of the scheduled match on the Fifa website.
“Therefore, UAE FA decided to cut ties with Presentation Sports company in the future and is surprised how the Egyptian FA directors’ statements about the cancellation or the adjourning of the match circulated on various social media prior to officially consulting UAE FA.”
The FA are in talks to organise a replacement friendly for next Monday. The national team, at present undergoing a two-week training camp in Dubai, take on Bolivia at the Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium on Friday.
In other news, former Netherlands international Michael Reiziger is being lined up to replace former manager Marcel Keizer at Al Jazira, according to reports.
De Telegraaf reported that contact has already been made with Ajax, the Dutch club where Reiziger is in charge of the club’s reserves, about the Dutchman replacing his compatriot, who left the club last week to take over at Sporting club in Lisbon.
Reiziger, 45, a former Ajax, AC Milan and Barcelona defender who won 72 caps for his country, is said to be mulling over Jazira’s proposal.
If Reiziger were to join the Abu Dhabi club, it would be the third time in a row that Jazira have turned to a Dutch coach following Henk ten Cate and Keizer.