July 18 (Reuters Arabic) - The Palestinian Football Association has rejected what it called "questioning of the intentions and national identity" of Al-Ahly striker Wissam Abu Ali in the Egyptian media.

Egyptian Premier League champions Al Ahly announced last Sunday that Abu Ali's departure had been resolved and that he would remain with the team until the end of his contract, which runs until 2029.

But days later, the Palestinian striker was excluded from the team's delegation heading to Tunisia on Friday for the preseason training camp, citing the player's failure to complete physical measurements and medical tests on the scheduled dates, in addition to his "absence from training and treatment sessions without permission."

Press reports indicated that the Palestinian national team striker, Abu Ali (26 years old), received several offers to leave during the current transfer period, but Al-Ahly rejected them due to the low financial compensation, while the player, who holds Danish citizenship in addition to Palestinian citizenship, insists on leaving.

The Palestinian Football Association issued a statement today on its Twitter account regarding this matter, saying, "The Palestinian Football Association is following with deep concern and regret the unjustified media and public campaign against our national team player, Wissam Abu Ali, through some Egyptian media platforms and social media, following developments related to his career with Al-Ahly Club."

"Wissam represents a great national value, as he is one of the most prominent members of our national team. Throughout his career, he has expressed his complete commitment to Palestine and its jersey, both on and off the field.

"He is known for his high level of discipline and professionalism, which has earned him the trust of both the technical staff and the Palestinian public. Accordingly, we consider the allegations against him, whether questioning his intentions or attacking his person and national identity, to be completely unacceptable and inconsistent with the sporting and professional values represented by our Arab sports institutions."

The statement added, "We, at the Palestinian Football Association, demand that the Egyptian Football Association and its president, Hany Abu Rida, personally intervene to protect the player from these media and public campaigns. We also demand that the Al-Ahly club management assume its full responsibility to calm the atmosphere, defend its players, and not leave them vulnerable to campaigns of abuse, regardless of the nature of the disagreements with them."

Al-Ahly received an offer from the American club Columbus Crew to sign the player, which started at $4 million and reached $5.25 million, in addition to $750,000 in additional benefits and 10 percent of the sale proceeds. Al-Ahly responded that the financial offer... should not be less than $9.5 million, in addition to $2.5 million in additional benefits.

Al Wasl FC offered to sign the player for $6 million plus 20 percent of the net sale proceeds, but Al Ahli rejected the financial offer, describing it as inconsistent with the player's capabilities and the club's financial demands.

(Press coverage for the Arabic edition by Ashraf Hamed and Ahmed El-Khashab)