The Egyptian Football Association's (EFA) disciplinary committee decided to suspend Al Ahly offensive player Ahmed Abdel Zaher for three months from domestic matches and for one year from national team matches.
The penalty is considered to have begun from the date he flashed the Rabaa al-Adaweya sign on the 10 November during a match between Al Ahly and South Africa’s Orlando Pirates.
Gamal Diad, the committee head, said they took into consideration that this incident was the first of its kind for the player and that no harsh penalties were taken as a result. The committee listened to Abdel Zaher and compared his testimony to investigations conducted in order to decide the penalty.
The decision to suspend the player illustrates the strong polarization of Egyptian society since the ouster of Egypt’s first elected President Mohamed Morsy and the violence that followed after pro-Morsy demonstrators demanded his reinstatement. Over 300 protesters were killed by Egyptian security forces in the dispersal of the sit-in staged by Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Rabaa al-Adaweya Square in August.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
