A widespread controversy arose from an incident between Egyptian table tennis player Omar Assar and his teammate Mahmoud Ashraf Helmy, son of the president of the Egyptian Table Tennis Federation, during the African Championship held in Tunisia.
The Egyptian Table Tennis Federation decided to refer the pair to the Olympic Committee for investigation, against the backdrop of the events that took place during the Egypt-Nigeria match in the semi-finals of the team competitions.
The crisis began when Omar Assar refused to complete his match against the Nigerian player due to Mahmoud Ashraf Helmy being on the bench.
Assar said in a video clip that went viral on social media: “I will not complete the match unless he leaves,” addressing the head of the delegation.
Mahmoud Ashraf also refused to shake hands with his teammate Omar Assar before the start of the match against Nigeria, which exacerbated the tension between the players and almost developed into a physical altercation.
In media statements, Omar Assar expressed his pride in the Egyptian national team achieving a perfect score in the tournament, stressing that this achievement was achieved for the first time in 21 years.
Assar revealed that he participated in the final rounds while suffering from an injury, and also pointed out that the national team delegation traveled to Tunisia without a doctor or physical therapist, in addition to the technical problems resulting from the continuous change of coaches.
He explained that the relationship between him and Mahmoud Ashraf was good before the match, but he was surprised that his teammate refused to recite Al-Fatiha with the rest of the team members, and sat on the bench in an inappropriate manner.
He added that Mahmoud Ashraf refused to shake his hand when he went to greet his teammates before the match, and left the bench, considering that this behavior reflected his teammate’s desire to participate as a starter.
He mentioned that Mahmoud Ashraf remained present before the match holding his mobile phone without encouraging his teammates, then returned to the bench after the start of the match, which angered him.
Assar confirmed that he asked Mahmoud Ashraf to leave after he refused to shake his hand and left before the match, pointing out that he spoke with the head of the delegation without overstepping.
Omar Assar accused his teammate Mahmoud Ashraf of trying to assault him after he refused to complete the match, and pointed out that the same player had previously been penalized in the league championship for misconduct.
For his part, the president of the Egyptian Table Tennis Federation announced that the pair would be referred for investigation, confirming that his son was wrong not to shake hands with Omar Assar, and criticized the latter’s behavior because it contributed to exaggerating what happened in front of public opinion.
He confirmed that he asked his son not to go up to the podium to avoid any negative reaction, pointing out that penalties will be imposed according to the report of the head of the delegation and the legal advisor.
He explained that the investigation will be conducted with full transparency by the Olympic Committee, and the Ministry of Sports will be informed of all the details.
The president of the Egyptian Federation denied what was rumored about his son being punished with a huge fine, confirming that a disciplinary penalty had already been imposed by him on his son after events in a league match.
He pointed out that the Egyptian Federation took over its duties with a large debt, confirming that the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Olympic Committee provided the necessary support to the Federation in the recent period.
He stressed that the Egyptian national team delegation was not accustomed to bringing a medical team in the African championships, and that this did not happen during the era of any previous board of directors, stressing that what happened will not pass unnoticed, and a comprehensive investigation will be opened to avoid its recurrence in the future.
He explained that the Egyptian Federation will notify the Ministry of Youth and Sports of all the matters that occurred according to official reports from the head of the delegation and officials of the legal administration in the Olympic Committee, confirming that there is a moment-by-moment follow-up of the events by the concerned authorities.
source: 961 today
