KUWAIT CITY, Aug 20: Al-Arabi and Egyptian player Abdel-Rahman Khaled, known as "Jebna," have clarified their positions regarding their recent "disengagement" following a brief association. Jebna had played a short stint as a substitute for Al-Arabi in their match against Al-Tadamon last Friday before the contract was terminated.

Mamdouh Abdel, a board member of Al-Arabi, explained that the decision to terminate Jebna's contract was due to him signing with an Egyptian club without informing Al-Arabi's management. Abdel emphasized, "Our position on this matter and the contract's termination is legally justified."

On the other hand, Jebna, formerly of Al-Mokawloon Al-Arab, alleged that a well-known player agent was behind Al-Arabi's decision to withdraw from signing just 12 days after the contract was finalized. He shared, "I had a negative experience with this agent before. Although I followed my coach's advice and agreed to a monthly salary arrangement with the agent due to overdue payments from my previous club, the agent exploited the situation."

Jebna recounted that after receiving an offer from Al-Arabi and completing the deal, the agent threatened the intermediary who facilitated the contract, claiming he would end Jebna's football career. Khaled stated, "The agent falsely informed Al-Arabi that I had signed with a fourth-division team in Egypt. This misinformation was used to manipulate the situation." He concluded, "The claim that I signed with a lower division team is illogical, especially since my name has been linked to prominent clubs like Zamalek and Pyramids."

Hassan Musa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff