An Egyptian appeals court has sentenced the president of Zamalek football club, Mortada Mansour, to a month in prison for insulting the president of bitter rivals Al Ahly, a judicial source told AFP on Wednesday.
Al Ahly and Zamalek, the country’s two biggest clubs and among the continent’s most successful, are historic rivals whose fans regularly clash after matches.
The 70-year-old Zamalek boss was initially sentenced to one year in prison for insulting Mahmoud al-Khatib, president of Al Ahly and a former star player, and his family in a video posted on social networks and on Zamalek’s club channel.
On Wednesday, Mansour’s sentence was reduced to one month in prison and a fine of 10 000 Egyptian pounds.
A former magistrate and member of parliament, Mansour is regularly in the news. He has had a long-running battle with Al Ahly and has physically attacked his counterparts.
His parliamentary immunity had for a while enabled him to avoid legal proceedings after complaints of insults and defamation.
In 2007, he was sentenced to three years in jail by a criminal court in Cairo for “insulting” court officials and levelling accusations of corruption against them.
Source: AFP