Zamalek president starts prison term for insulting rival

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.

AFP learned from a judicial source that the 70-year-old Zamalek boss Mortada Mansour was imprisoned on Saturday.

He 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.

But in August 2022 that sentence was reduced on appeal to one month and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (500 euros).

Mansour posted on Facebook before starting the prison term that "lions aren't afraid of death or jail".

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.

Zamalek has not yet announced whether it will replace its president.

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© Agence France-Presse