Amr Zaki rules out Portsmouth move, refuses to play alongside Algerian.

CAIRO: According to an article that ran on Goal.com Sunday, Egypt's international striker Amr Zaki, declared he will not be interested in joining English Premier League club Portsmouth because that would mean he will play alongside Algerian defender Nadir Belhadj.

UAE businessman Sulaiman Al-Fahim, who has a stake at Portsmouth, disclosed that the former Wigan Athletic striker has been in regular touch with him in respect of a transfer to Fratton Park in the winter.

However, Zaki said on his personal website that a switch from Zamalek to Pompey is no longer an option because they have an Algerian player as well as Israelis.

"I refused their offer before, but now joining Portsmouth is no longer an option for me," Zaki said.

"After Portsmouth signed an Israeli player and also hired an Israeli football director (Avram Grant), a possible move was ruled out.

"On top of that, no way could I play at Portsmouth with an Algerian within their ranks."

The relationship between Egypt and Algeria has soured since the hostilities that followed the Pharaohs' 1-0 loss to the Desert Foxes in Wednesday's World Cup play-off.

In Khartoum after the game, Egyptian fans claimed they were brutally attacked and threatened by their Algerian counterparts in retaliation to an attack on the Algerian team's bus as it arrived in Cairo on Saturday two days before the game. -- Daily News Egypt

Daily NewsEgypt 2009

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