The Egyptian Olympic football team has taken a heavy blow to the position of its star Mahmoud Saber due to participation in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Saber was ruled out during the Egypt-Morocco match in last Saturday’s African Cup of Nations final for foul play by Moroccan player Abdel Samad Al-Zalzouli in the 18th minute.
And Moroccan website Al-Boultula has confirmed that the International Olympic Committee is preparing to impose a two-match ban on Saber from the group stage of the 2024 Olympics in Paris due to his bad behavior when he violently interfered with Al-Zalzouli.
The site added that the International Olympic Committee will make this decision regarding Saber based on the fact that the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations is a preliminary event to the Olympics and disciplinary sanctions are associated with it.
The decision hurts Saber’s chances of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics, as Egypt’s coaching staff will select players based on their value in the first three group stage matches, without guaranteeing a playoff spot.
The Egyptian Olympic team lost to their Moroccan counterpart in the African Cup of Nations final 1–2 with Saber being Egypt’s only goal.
Despite the defeat, the Egyptian team, along with Morocco and Mali, secured qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, as the first three places in the African Under-23 Championship qualify directly for the Olympic tournament.
Source: site “Tournament”