Mansour in Mubarak plea

Mortada Mansour called on Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to interfere in his conflict with the National Sports Council (NSC) after being banned from taking part in Zamalek's elections.

كتب : Hatem Maher

الجمعة، 01 مايو 2009 - 02:13
Mortada Mansour called on Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to interfere in his conflict with the National Sports Council (NSC) after being banned from taking part in Zamalek's elections.

The NSC said on Thursday that the controversial lawyer was not eligible to run for the presidency seat because of his poor criminal record.

The former Zamalek chairman previously served a one-year sentence in jail for insulting head of the Egyptian State Council Sayed Nofal.

"I will take the matter to court to appeal the Sports Council decision," Mansour told Modern Sport late on Thursday.

"I will also send a letter to president Mubarak to gain my right of entering the elections. It's not only about me; it's about Zamalek members and fans."

Mansour was Zamalek's last elected president but was relived of his duties by the NSC in the summer of 2006 following his infamous shoe tantrum during the White Knights' Egyptian Cup final against Cairo rivals Ahli.

Wealthy businessman Mamdouh Abbas and Mohamed Amer have acted as stop-gap chairmen since then.

Zamalek's board election is due to take place on May 29th.

Should Mansour fail in his attempts to regain his candidacy status, Kamal Darwish, under whom Zamalek enjoyed fruitful four years in the early 2000s, and Abbas will be the frontrunners for the prestigious seat.