Al Hadari feels wrath of Egypt's fans

CAIRO, March 27 (Reuters) - Argentina's players could be forgiven for wondering why Egyptian fans were jeering their own goalkeeper during the 2-0 friendly defeat by the two-time World Cup winners in Cairo on Wednesday.

After all, Essam Al Hadari's superb form was vital in helping Egypt clinch the African Cup of Nations title this year for the second time in a row.

But denying the likes of Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba from point-blank range did not slow his fall from grace after he tried to join Swiss side FC Sion in late February without the consent of his club, Al Ahli, the most successful team in Egypt.

Al Hadari, 35, had sought to terminate his contract in line with Article 17 of FIFA's transfer regulations which allows players to cancel their contracts after a "protected period".

Al Hadari had hoped that, because of his extended service at Al Ahli, he would be allowed to end his contract and move to Sion for a compensatory payment of 270,000 euros, the equivalent of the rest of his contract with the Cairo club.

After being unveiled as a new signing by Sion and agreeing a deal until 2011, Al Hadari returned to Egypt at the start of the month when it became clear he could not make the move because he had not given Al Ahli the required notice period.

PRESIDENTIAL ORDER

The move has sparked an unprecedented wave of anger from club supporters and a rare, though unsuccessful, intervention by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to ease the tension.

During the match against Argentina, large sections of the crowd at Cairo stadium booed Al Hadari every time he touched the ball.

And when his ill positioning allowed Argentine defender Nicolas Burdisso to score the second goal, many grabbed the opportunity to gloat.

"I whistled every time he touched the ball and will do this at every game for the national team as long as he is still playing," 31-year-old Al Ahli supporter Sherif Abdel-Rahman told Reuters.

Many supporters still call for the goalkeeper to be expelled from the club and others said he should never be allowed to play for Egypt again.

Egyptian media have given what they described as the "Al Hadari crisis" front-page treatment next to stories about nationwide bread shortages.

Mubarak publicly ordered the Egyptian Football Association (FA) in March to try to end the crisis as soon as possible.

Al Ahli has suspended Al Hadari and handed him a hefty fine despite his repeated apologies for his move. However, he later told world governing body FIFA he still wanted to join the Swiss side, according to FA Vice-President Ahmed Shoubeir.

"This will probably end in favour of Sion because of the player's will ... But he should be awarded to Al Ahli," Shoubeir told Reuters.

"He (Al Hadari) has erected a wall between himself and the Al Ahli fans, and this wall will never be brought down." (Additional reporting by Ahmed Maher, writing by Alaa Shahine; editing by Miles Evans)