Al-Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy was handed a ​four-match ban after striking a ‌referee on the head following a 1-1 draw with Ceramica Cleopatra, the Egyptian ​Pro League said on ​Thursday.

The Egypt international, who was on ⁠the bench for Tuesday’s game, ​was incensed after Al-Ahly’s appeal for ​a penalty following a handball in stoppage time was denied.

“He handed a four‑match ban ​and fined 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($942) ​for assaulting the referee by pushing or ‌pulling (use ⁠of the hand without violence),” the league said in a statement.

The ban means El-Shenawy, who is expected ​to be ​Egypt’s ⁠starting goalkeeper at the World Cup in North America, ​will be sidelined until ​the ⁠final week of the league play-offs.

Al-Ahly are third on 41 points, five ⁠points ​behind leaders Zamalek.

-Reuters

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Galatasaray have strengthened their squad with another Napoli player, announcing on Friday that Dutch winger Noa Lang has joined the Turkish champions on loan for the remainder of the season, linking up with former Napoli player, Victor Osimhen in Istanbul.

The Super Lig giants confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Napoli for the temporary transfer of the 15-cap Netherlands international, with the deal including a non-mandatory purchase option that Galatasaray may activate at the end of the season.

Under the terms of the agreement, Galatasaray will pay €2 million as a loan fee to Napoli, while Lang will earn a seasonal salary of €1.75 million, according to a statement released by the club.

Lang joined Napoli last year from PSV Eindhoven but struggled to fully establish himself in Italy. He featured in 27 matches across all competitions, scoring once during his time with the Serie A side.

His arrival adds attacking depth to Galatasaray and further strengthens the Napoli connection at the club, with Osimhen already a central figure in their squad as they continue to push for domestic success and progress in European competition.

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Three Sudanese clubs will join the league in Rwanda this season in a bid to keep playing while the civil strife in their country negates any chance of normal sporting activity.

Sudan has been in the grip of conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, with more than 150,000 people killed and about 12 million uprooted, creating the largest displacement crisis in the world.

People who fled when the conflict erupted have started to return this year after Sudan’s army retook the capital Khartoum, but the city’s two biggest clubs will continue their sporting exile with their old infrastructure badly damaged.

Last season Al Hilal and Al Merrikh were allowed to play in the league in Mauritania, on the other side of the continent, where they could stay active and keep up their club structures.

Now, along with Al Ahli Wad Madani, they have been given permission to join Rwanda’s league this season, the Rwanda Football Association said.

In July, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, who between them have won all but four of the championships since Sudan’s league was created in 1965, were home for a mini-tournament to decide who would compete in continental competition in the 2025-26 season.

The eight-team tournament was hosted away from the conflict in Ad-Damer, some 430km from Khartoum, and Atbara, which is 320km north of the capital, with Al Hilal and Al Merrikh dominating again and Al Ahli Wad Madani finishing third.

But a normal league is not possible amid the continuing conflict, leading to the request to play in nearby Rwanda.

Al Hilal have secured a place in the group phase of this season’s African Champions League with a 4-1 aggregate win over Police of Kenya. They won the ‘home’ leg of their second-round tie 3-1 on Friday, which they hosted in Benghazi.

Libya has also served as the base for Sudan’s national team, who will compete at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco at the end of the year despite not playing at home since March 2023.

-Reuters

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