On Monday, the Emirati club Al-Wahda revealed the scenes behind its contract with the late Egyptian football player Ahmed Refaat, due to what was recently raised in the media regarding the existence of suspicions of administrative and legal violations that marred the player’s travel outside the country.
Amer Al-Saari, a member of the Board of Directors of the Emirati Al-Wahda Club, who was supervising Refaat’s joining process, said during statements to Egyptian media: “This is my testimony before God... Refaat’s departure was purely technical.”
He added that before contracting with the player, “the former CEO of Future Club, Ahmed Diab, contacted me personally to confirm that the permit for the player’s travel would be issued soon. Communication continued to confirm the legality of his presence with us.”
He continued: "We asked the club how to send the financial compensation while the player did not obtain the permit, and Diab (the current president of the Egyptian Clubs Association) confirmed that his papers were in order and ready. Later, unfortunately, Diab disavowed Refaat, and he no longer responded after several attempts on our part."
What happened to Ahmed Refaat?
Refaat suffered a cardiac arrest during his team's match against Al-Ittihad of Alexandria in the league on March 11. He was transferred to the hospital, where cardiac resuscitation was performed before he remained in intensive care for a period of nearly a month.
The medical team announced that his condition had improved and he was discharged from the hospital. The doctors explained at the time that they had installed a pacemaker for Rifaat and that he would undergo further medical examinations in the future.
The Egyptians were surprised on Saturday morning by the news of the player’s death, while a source close to the player’s family explained that the latter’s health condition was stable on Friday.
Egyptian media reported that the late player was subjected to a crisis regarding his travel permit, and did not find anyone to stand by him, and he had a case of escaping conscription in the military judiciary, which caused a psychological crisis for the player, which was one of the reasons for his death.
The former Dean of the Heart Institute in Egypt, Gamal Shaaban, mentioned on his Facebook page, saying: “A short, painful story. Ahmed Refaat is a true example of broken heart syndrome. His heart was broken because of injustice and oppression, and he suffered a stroke in the coronary artery, which caused fibrosis in the heart and a malignant electrical defect in the heart, from which he survived.” Miraculously, he came back to life to bid us farewell and point out to those who had wronged him, but God willing, he would recover his deposit, so he suffered another stroke that claimed his life.”
He added: "May God have mercy on him. I wonder how many such sad stories exist in the world and no one knows about them. My friends, sadness breaks the heart and causes strokes and death."
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