Other Leagues
Africa’s most capped footballer is sacked by his club
Africa’s most capped international footballer, Hossam Hassan has been fired alongside his twin brother, Ibrahim Hassan by Egyptian Premier League club Al-Masry.
Hossam, who had an amazing 176 international appearances for Egypt and scoring 83 goals, was dismissed with his football director twin, Ibrahim, on Saturday, allegedly insulting the club’s board in front of the players during halftime at a match last week.
Hossam was one of the greatest players in the history of the Egyptian game, winning three African Nations Cup titles.
The 56-year-old played at the same club as his brother for much of his 19-year career and they have reprised the double act as coaches since hanging up their boots, including four previous stints at Al-Masry.
The Port Said club said the twins had committed “unusual, unacceptable and unjustified transgressions” during a 3-1 loss to Aswan on Wednesday, which left Al-Masry without a win in four matches and eighth in the league.
“They insulted all board members in front of the players during the half-time break of the Aswan match,” the club said in a statement. “The insults led some of the players to ask to terminate their contracts.”
Al-Masry also said players had also complained of “continuous insults and mistreatment” since the Hassans took over last December and imposed an undisclosed fine on the pair.
Hossam, a former coach of Zamalek and Jordan national team, made no comment on his dismissal.
Al-Masry, who appointed Mimi Abdelrazek as caretaker coach, has reached the semi-finals of the League Cup and will play in the first round proper of the Egypt Cup this week.
-Reuters
A goal scored under soccer’s experimental “daylight” offside rule was allowed for the first time in a professional match on Saturday, with Pacific FC forward Alejandro Diaz on target in a 2-2 draw with Halifax Wanderers in the Canadian Premier League.
The strike would have been ruled out under the standard International Football Association Board Laws of the Game, but stood under the CPL’s ongoing trial conducted in cooperation with FIFA.
The Canadian league is testing the rule this season as part of efforts to reduce marginal offside decisions and encourage attacking play.
Under the system, an attacker is only deemed offside if there is clear “daylight” between them and the second-last defender, rather than being penalised for narrowly being ahead.
The concept, long advocated by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in his role as FIFA’s head of global football development, is being assessed in Canada as a potential change to the offside law.
Diaz’s goal marked the first in-game application of the interpretation, which resulted directly in a goal, offering a glimpse of how the rule could alter attacking patterns and defensive positioning.
The CPL, which launched the trial earlier this month, has provided FIFA with a professional testing ground for the proposal as soccer’s world governing body evaluates whether to expand its use more broadly.
Reuters
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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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