The Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports released an official statement on Sunday confirming the termination of membership in the Zamalek club by its president, Mortada Mansour, after the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest judicial body, upheld a sentence of one month in prison in a case of insult and slandering Mahmoud Al-Khatib, President of the Al-Ahly Club. The statement implied that Tat Mansoor would not be able to return to take over as club president after his membership ended, and the ministry asked the board of directors of the Zamalek club to follow the necessary procedures to arrange for the selection of a new club president through elections.
The text of the statement from the Ministry of Youth and Sports reads:
In the light of the decision rendered by the Court of Cassation at the meeting held on Saturday, February 25, 2023, on the appeal no. essentially rejecting it.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports would like to clarify the legal procedures applicable in this regard in the following paragraphs:
While the guidelines in force at the Zamalek Club, its Article No. 41 provided for the termination of membership of members of the Board of Directors in a number of cases, including in the case of a final decision against a member with a penalty that restricts freedoms.
The guidelines in its Article No. 23 provide that the club’s board of directors chooses who will act as chairman of the board in his absence.
Based on the foregoing, the board of directors of the Zamalek club is the one who decides at its meeting who will act as chairman of the board of directors of the Zamalek club in the coming period, until the next general meeting to elect the president of the Zamalek club.
On Saturday, the Court of Cassation ruled to dismiss Zamalek club president Mortada Mansour’s appeal against his detention on charges of insulting and slandering Al-Ahly club president Mahmoud Al-Khatib.
The Court of Cassation upheld President Zamalek’s month-long prison sentence on charges of insulting and slandering Al-Ahly club president Mahmoud Al-Khatib in a final decision that is no longer subject to appeal.