CAIRO: Merreikh boss Hossam Al-Badri accused an anonymous person of tarnishing his image while he was in charge of Ahly, saying one of his then assistants turned the Cairo club's fans against him. Al-Badri resigned as the Red Devils manager after November's 3-1 league defeat at Ismaili, citing 'unbearable pressure' from the supporters as a reason for his exit. Some of Ahly's fans called on the 50-year-old more than once during matches to step down before he finally decided to leave. It's widely believed that the team's inconsistent displays and unsatisfying results in all competitions urged them to ask for his departure. However, Al-Badri is convinced that those who lambasted him from the stands were incited to attack him by an Ahly technical staff member. "During Ahly's game with ENPPI (early in November), I noticed some banners that read offensive things against me," he told Modern TV during a lengthy interview. "The purpose of these banners was to blemish my image. It was obvious they cost a lot of money and I'm sure the spectators didn't pay for them. "Someone paid for these banners. I know him quite well but I'm not going to disclose his name." The fans' attitude towards Al-Badri in Ahly's 3-2 win over ENPPI left no doubt that he was anything but popular. They came down on him even harder after the loss at Ismaili later on. "Ahly's real supporters would never do that. I'm quite sure that this man was behind what happened," said Al-Badri. "He was working with the (senior) team at the time. He then left to take up another job elsewhere … what happened during that period caused me to depart." Al-Badri guided Ahly to the Egyptian Premier League title last term after serving as Manuel Jose's assistant for five seasons. He took charge of Sudanese side Merreikh shortly after he parted ways with the six-time African champions. Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Shafi 'Zizo' succeeded Al-Badri at Ahly's helm on a temporary basis for a short while late in 2010 before Portuguese tactician Jose was re-appointed as head coach.
