By Amr Shaheen BBC Sport Online in Cairo

Egypt stars Ahmed "Mido" Hossam and Hany Ramzy are to be made the subject of an inquiry by their country's FA after they failed to play in a Nations Cup qualifier against Madagascar.

Egypt lost 1-0 and much of the blame for the defeat has been put on the absence of the two players.

The pair were said to have cited injury problems as the reason for missing the game in Antananarivo.

But coach Mohsen Saleh, in charge of his first competitive game for Egypt, said the players have given him no explanation as to why they failed to make the trip.

"I was surprised by the players' absence, I only knew that they will not join us at the airport before heading to Antananarivo," said Saleh.

The Egyptian media harshly criticized the players when it appeared that their injury claims might not be genuine.

"This is a new phenomena in Egyptian football, and we will be very strict about it" said an EFA spokesman.

A US $20,000 fine has been slammed on Mido, who plays for Ajax Amsterdam in Holland.