By Tarek Al-Issawi

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ Egypt kicked star striker Ahmed Mido off its team Wednesday, two days before playing Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations final, because of a public spat with coach Hassan Shehata.

``Mido has been suspended from representing the national team for six months, effective immediately,'' Sameer Zaher, head of the Egyptian Football Association, told The Associated Press.

The striker, who is on loan to Tottenham in the Premier League, was booed by the home crowd at Cairo International Stadium during Tuesday's semifinal against Senegal.

He initially refused to come off the field before arguing for several minutes with Shehata on the sidelines. Veteran player Hossam Hassan intervened to prevent a clash between Mido and the coach.

Egyptian media quoted Mido as shouting at the coach when the substitution was ordered: ``Why are you taking me off? . . . You are nothing but a donkey.''

Mido's replacement, Amr Zaki, scored the winning goal with his first touch of the ball in the 81st minute, putting Egypt into the final with a 2-1 victory.

``Mido has been ordered to leave the national team camp,'' Zaher said. ``His reaction was completely inappropriate and (so) was his behaviour toward coach Shehata.

The 22-year-old player, a crowd favourite who scored the competition's opening goal, was booed late Tuesday by a crowd of 74,000 fans, who chanted ``Mido out.''

There was no immediate reaction from the Egypt striker, who had returned to play in the semifinal following a groin injury.

Cairo newspapers reacted angrily to Mido's tantrum.

``Shame on you Mido,'' Al-Messa's headline said. ``Whether the coach was right or not, we were all ashamed by the star's reaction . . . He refused to leave the pitch and tried to grab the coach by the neck,'' it added.

Al-Gomhuria said Mido had been refused to make a public apology before the Egypt FA decided on disciplinary action. ``Mido reacted aggressively, prompting the FA to call an urgent meeting,'' the newspaper said.

After Tuesday's game, assistant coach Shawki Ghaib said Mido's replacement paid off.

``We did what we had to win the game and have a shot at the tournament,'' Ghaib said. ``Obviously we're very happy with the way things went. This was a great step toward the title and we've taken it.''