Former Al Ahly star Ahmed Fathi revealed new details about the controversy that previously arose regarding the Egypt national team captaincy armband, which was transferred to current team captain Mohamed Salah. Fathi's statements came during an appearance on the "Acknowledge and Admit" program with host Ahmed Shobier on Al-Nahar channel. He clarified that he initially rejected the idea of removing the captaincy from him during Hossam El-Badry's tenure as the national team coach. Fathi stated that former Egyptian Football Association member Mohamed Barakat contacted him at that time and informed him of plans to grant the captaincy to Mohamed Salah, explaining that he responded that this was not the norm, especially since the team's custom is based on seniority. He added that he later joined the national team camp, and the decision was postponed after his objection. However, the issue resurfaced with the arrival of Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, when team manager Wael Gomaa at the time told him that joining the national team would be conditional on relinquishing the captaincy. Fathi explained that he felt considerable distress during that period, even performing a prayer for guidance before making the decision, before finally agreeing to give up the armband. He also revealed that he later spoke with Mohamed Salah about this matter, assuring him of his utmost respect and stating that if Salah had directly asked him for the armband, he would have given it to him without hesitation. However, Salah clarified to him that it was the Egyptian Football Association that had offered him the captaincy.
