ALKHOBAR: Just over 60 days after the Egyptian Football Association renewed its trust in Hossam Hassan until 2030, it reversed that decision on Saturday by dismissing the man who took Egypt to their first World Cup victory and knockout-stage appearance.

The Egyptian FA’s press release gave no official reason for the dismissal, and its wording was indirect, but the statement’s reference to the team’s “positive image and stability” appeared to point to the issues that have surrounded Hassan since the World Cup.

“Following the Board of Directors’ meeting, which began this morning and is still ongoing, and after reviewing all recent circumstances and events, and their negative repercussions on the positive image and stability of our national team, the Board has decided, within its responsibilities and in line with the terms of the contract, to thank Captain Hossam Hassan and his technical and administrative staff,” the statement, released on X, read.

The “recent circumstances and events” appear to allude to a host of storylines that had converged on Hassan since the World Cup ended.

It began in late August, when a video of a family dispute involving Hassan and his wives circulated across social media, leading to a spat that lasted months.

While the family dispute continued to circulate on Egyptian social media, the AFCON 2027 qualifiers provided no solace. On Sept. 26, reports of a rift between Hassan and Mohamed Salah emerged after the winger was substituted early in Egypt’s 0-0 draw with Angola. He was then rested for the following match against South Sudan.

The Egyptian FA released a statement confirming that the decision to rest Salah for the Sept. 29 match was “due to the artificial turf of the pitch.” However, Egyptian journalist Ahmed Abdel Basset of MBC Masr 2 claimed there was “tension in the dressing room” and that Salah had left camp quietly after the Angola game.

More bad news followed for Hassan in late October, when FIFA handed him a three-match suspension for blaming refereeing errors for Egypt’s elimination by Argentina at the World Cup. A bigger crisis was looming, however, and on Nov. 4, amid the prolonged family dispute, Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation imposed an indefinite media ban on him.

The Council did not specify the violations, but the ban followed an earlier one on Hassan’s former wife appearing in the media after their personal disputes became public and were widely discussed on social media.

With Hassan barred from the media and the rift with Salah still simmering ahead of the November international break, the Egyptian FA decided that the “positive image and stability” its statement spoke of could not be protected with him on the touchline.

It was a bitter irony: the Pharaohs’ most successful appearance on the world stage had handed the federation exactly that, but Hassan’s own off-field noise had spent it in under six months.

Optimism had been high for Egypt after the World Cup, with hopes of winning their first AFCON since 2010 especially strong. Now, with Ali Maher — an Egyptian Premier League regular who has never managed either of Egypt’s big two, Al-Ahly or Zamalek — Egypt face another period of uncertainty.

The job he inherits is bigger than a vacancy: a squad that has set a new standard on the world stage, a Salah question still hanging over it, and a continental title that has eluded Egypt since 2010. Whether Maher can turn a World Cup high into an AFCON push will define how this dismissal is remembered.