Austin FC parts ways with center back Amro Tarek

A move that many Austin FC observers expected for weeks if not months finally came to fruition on Wednesday. 

In a short, to-the-point release, the club noted that it "has waived and exercised a Buyout of a Guaranteed Contract on defender Amro Tarek. Tarek will no longer occupy a Senior roster spot or count against the Club’s 2023 salary budget." 

The Egyptian center back was announced as an Austin FC player on Jan. 27 as one of the last moves of the 2023 preseason. 

At the time, then-interim sporting director Sean Rubio noted, “Amro is an athletic, left-footed center back who adds another option to our talented group of defenders as we prepare to compete in four different competitions during the 2023 season." 

But Tarek only played an ill-fated 66 minutes with the club, in March 7's now-infamous 3-0 loss against Violette AC in a Concacaf Champions League first-round match staged in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Tarek lost a pair of one-on-one battles with Violette striker Miche-Naider Chéry, which put Verde down 2-0 at halftime and then scored a stunning own-goal for the final 3-0 margin early in the second half, before coming out with injury just over halfway through the second half. 

Tarek also played in MLS with New York Red Bulls between 2019 and 2021, with brief loan stints for both the Columbus Crew and Orlando City preceding that.

Presumably, the move's being made to clear a senior roster spot for Toronto FC center back Matt Hedges, rumored to be coming to Austin per a Tom Bogert report in The Athletic released Sunday. 

On Wednesday, shortly after the Tarek announcement, Austin FC CEO Anthony Precourt tweeted out his customary "green smoke" announcement preceding select Verde player signings.