Dr. Ali Gomaa, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, spoke regarding some wrong behaviors in football, including bigotry.
Gomaa said on his television program “Egypt, the Land of the Reformers” that “every provocation of sedition is not permissible in religion, and blind fanaticism for anything, whether it is a sports team, tribe or sect, is abhorrent fanaticism rejected by God and His Messenger.”
Ali Gomaa pointed out that football fans should stay away from this wrong behavior in order to seek God’s satisfaction, following the phenomenon of sports intolerance has become rampant in society recently.
What is the relationship of Khaled Al-Ghandour?
Ali Gomaa’s talk comes in conjunction with a state of controversy in Egyptian football circles, its hero Khaled Al-Ghandour, the former leader of Zamalek, and the presenter of the programs on Al-Nadi Al-Abyad TV channel now.
A strong crisis erupted between Al-Ghandour and the club Al AhlyBecause of the former Zamalek star’s attack on the referees of the field and video technology in the last “Red Genie” match once morest Moroccan Raja in the African Champions League.
Al-Ghandour attacked the referees because of calculating a penalty kick for Al-Ahly at the beginning of the match, due to the ball touching the hand of the Raja defender, before another angle showed that the ball did not touch the player’s arm but rather his leg.
During his attack, Al-Ghandour published several publications through his official account on the social networking site “Facebook”, including a statement attributed to the Algerian Mahdi Sharif Obeid, the referee of the video technology in the match, confirming that the director of the match, Mohamed Nasr, was the reason for calculating a penalty kick. It later turned out to be a false statement.
Al-Ahly’s board of directors moved by issuing an official statement announcing Khaled Al-Ghandour’s complaint to the Supreme Media Council, accusing the former Zamalek star of trying to stir up strife between the fans of the Red Team and Raja, stressing that this was not the first time for him.
Al-Ahly said in his statement: “It was noted during the past hours that there are other parties that are not concerned with the interrelationship between Al-Ahly and Al-Raja, nor the sports regulations, nor safety, and these parties are trying, through some media and social networking sites, to broadcast overcharging regarding all the factors surrounding the match, Influencing the reaction of fans, referees, and the safety of both teams.
He added, “We fully trust the management of Raja, and the awareness of the brotherly Moroccan fans, but we call on the African Union to take care of this match in accordance with international regulations, ensure the safety of both teams and achieve arbitration justice, so that the match comes out in a manner befitting the value of the two clubs.”
Muhammad Al-Jarhi, a member of Al-Ahly’s board of directors, decided to submit a request for a briefing in the House of Representatives, to the Minister of Youth and Sports and the Chairman of the Supreme Media Council, on the grounds that Al-Ghandour intended to stir up sedition between Al-Ahly and Al-Raja fans.
Al-Ahly Council member accused the former Zamalek star of spreading false news, stressing that it is not the first time that Khaled Al-Ghandour has done this, as he had previously done so in the match between Al-Ahly and Tunisia’s Esperance in the 2018 African Champions League final.
Khaled Al-Ghandour went out in a live broadcast, through his official account on the social networking site “Facebook”, to apologize to Al-Ahly and its fans in case his speech was misunderstood.
The former Zamalek star confirmed that he did not intend to provoke any kind of strife, noting that his speech was limited to the football side only, hinting that he would stay away from talking a lot during the coming period, for fear of misunderstanding his words.
In conjunction with these developments, the Supreme Media Council announced an investigation into Al-Ahly’s complaint once morest Khaled Al-Ghandour, in which he accused him of fomenting sedition.
In an official statement carried by Egyptian media, the council confirmed that the decision comes following actually listening to Khaled Al-Ghandour’s statements.
