CAIRO: Emad Meteb's transfer dispute with Standard Liege will be resolved within 24 hours, the player's agent Nader Shawki said on Wednesday. The Egyptian striker has incurred the wrath of the Belgian side upon deciding not to honor the contract he signed with them after leaving Ahly in the close season. He said he had no option but to backtrack on his agreement with Standard to fulfill his military service in Egypt but local reports suggested that he sought to return to Ahly in the January transfer window. Belgian reports said Standard decided to take the matter to world governing body (FIFA) but Shawki believes that an out-of-court settlement will be reached in the next few hours. "The matter will be settled on Thursday at most," Shawki, who said recently he was doing his best to make sure Meteb is not sanctioned, told FilGoal.com. "Meteb will be free until the transfer window re-opens in January. He will train under the supervision of a fitness coach until then." The 27-year-old is consistently criticized by Egyptian media for his action that is widely considered as an inexplicable one. Egypt coach Hassan Shehata, who dropped his favorite marksman for last week's 6-3 friendly defeat of DR Congo, said he was not convinced with Meteb's excuses to annul his Standard deal. He also said that Meteb's saga proved that the majority of Egyptian players can not cope with the demands of playing in Europe. Shehata steered the Pharaohs to three consecutive African Cup of Nations titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010 with a squad that mainly consists of home-based players. Borussia Dortmund's Mohamed Zidan and Sunderland's Ahmed Al-Muhammadi are the only foreign-based players who are regular members of Egypt's roster.
