The State Council’s Administrative Court on Sunday upheld a decision by Egypt’s Youth and Sports Minister to dissolve the board of directors of Zamalek sporting club and suspend its president Mortada Mansour.
The court turned down two appeals in two cases filed against the decision by Mansour and his board.
The first decision for suspending Mansour was issued by the Egyptian Olympic Committee in October, wherein the committee suspended Mansour from sports-related activities for four years, fined him LE100,000, and called on the club’s management to elect a replacement president.
The second was issued by the Youth and Sports Minister in late November. The ministry decided to suspend and exclude the board, the executive manager, and the financial manager from any club-related affairs until the investigation is over.
A ministry statement said that the decision was based on the findings of a financial and administrative inspection committee, formed by the ministry in September.
The statement did not elaborate on the committee’s findings. However, it confirmed the presence of financial and other irregularities, which prompted the ministry to refer their report to the Public Prosecution.
Mansour and his colleagues appealed both decisions in two separate cases at the Administrative Court.
The two appeals demanded the cancellation of the decision to freeze the club’s board of directors, and the decision to form a temporary committee to manage and run the Zamalek club.
Mansour is a controversial figure who held the presidency of Zamalek and a seat in the House of Representatives, and lost them all in 2020.
In November, Mansour lost his reelection to parliament after coming in sixth in the Mit Ghamr race. He claimed the elections were rigged and has appealed the results in court.
