The footballer that fled Egypt after being treated 'like a slave'

The National Student

It seems incredible that, in today’s game, a player would flee the country due to the actions of his club. Yet, this is exactly the case of Souleymane Coulibaly...

Having just signed for Egypt’s most successful club, Al Ahly, from Scottish outfit Kilmarnock F.C., it looked promising for the young Ivorian. He managed to score six goals in 12 games, and the future looked bright. However, it soon turned sour. 

Without telling his club, Coulibaly fled to London. His reason being that he was “treated like a slave” by the Cairo side. Forced to pray after every goal he scored, and having his passport withheld by the club, his teammates also allegedly refused to pass the ball to him.

As a result of the events, his family have been left “traumatised” and he has “reached his limit”.

The extent of the mistreatment is such that Coulibaly is willing to accept any ban imposed on him by FIFA, after Al Ahly lodged a formal complaint, due to his absence without permission.

Since, Al Ahly have terminated his contract and vowed to investigate his claims, although they have been initially refuted. 

Coulibaly's full statement gives the impression that his religion was an issue and implies he may have been discriminated against on religious grounds. However the vague evidence available at present leaves this strange footballing affair a mysterious one.