Mahmoud El Khatib, chairman of the Egyptian Al Ahly club board, decided to accept sports broadcaster Medhat Shalaby’s apology and instructed his legal adviser to take the necessary steps to withdraw all lawsuits filed against him. The Cairo Economic Court meanwhile reserved one of the cases for judgment at a hearing on 21 October 2026, after reconciliation and withdrawal documents were submitted.
El Khatib orders cases closed after Shalaby’s apology
Mohamed Othman, Al Ahly’s legal adviser, announced that El Khatib had told him he accepted Shalaby’s apology and instructed him to end the legal proceedings in the dispute. Othman said the decision to withdraw the cases came in recognition of the broadcaster’s official apology for his previous comments.
On Wednesday 14 October 2026, Mahmoud El Khatib’s representative formally submitted a reconciliation declaration before the Economic Court in the case brought against Shalaby over allegations that he had insulted and defamed the Al Ahly president during an episode of his television programme. The court decided to reserve the case for judgment at a hearing on 21 October this year.
Shalaby apologises for comments about travel and health
El Khatib’s decision came hours after Medhat Shalaby posted a video on his Facebook account on Tuesday evening, 13 October, apologising for his comments about why the Al Ahly president had not travelled to the United States with the team’s delegation for the Club World Cup. Shalaby said his statement that El Khatib had not obtained a United States entry visa was based on information he had received from a source he believed to be reliable, before discovering that the information was incorrect.
He acknowledged that his mistake was failing to verify the accuracy of the information passed on to him before presenting it on his programme. The broadcaster said he had not intended to offend Mahmoud El Khatib or cast doubt on his health, and denied that he had sought to accuse the Al Ahly president of pretending to be ill. He asked El Khatib, his family and his supporters to accept his apology, stressing his appreciation of the club president’s record and standing as a player and sports official.
The beginning of the dispute on Masa'a Al Anwar
The dispute dates back to an episode of the programme “Masa'a Al Anwar” broadcast on 23 September 2025, during which Shalaby discussed El Khatib’s absence from Al Ahly’s trip to the United States for the Club World Cup. El Khatib had announced that his health and doctors’ advice had prevented him from travelling, while Shalaby said at the time that the failure to travel was linked to the visa not being obtained.
The Supreme Council for Media Regulation referred the complaint to its Complaints Committee, headed by council deputy Issam El Amir, to examine its contents and take the prescribed action under the governing regulations. Al Ahly’s management also instructed its legal adviser to take legal action and file a report with the public prosecutor over statements the club deemed offensive and contrary to the truth.
The case was later transferred to the Economic Court after being referred from the 6 October Misdemeanours Court. Legal proceedings continued until Shalaby issued his latest apology, after which El Khatib announced that he accepted it and ordered the withdrawal of the cases.
The defence team began implementing the decision by submitting reconciliation documents to the court, with judgment in the case before it due to be issued on 21 October 2026.
