(Photo by Ahmed ALMalky/DNE File)
A Cairo court delivered its verdict Monday for 10 defendants charged with assaulting Al-Zamalek Sporting Club chairman Mortada Mansour, with four individuals receiving three-month prison sentences, state-owned Al-Ahram reported.
The remaining six defendants were acquitted of the charges, state media added.
The incident occurred in October as Mansour prepared to unveil the football club’s new coach, with Mansour telling the media that some of the team’s hardcore fans attacked him with acid.
The Ultras White Knights, Al-Zamalek’s hardcore fan group replied by posting a video of the incident on their Facebook page, informing him it was actually urine. They also called him a “dog of the system” for his alleged connections to the Egyptian establishment.
The video shows a young man slapping Mansour on the back of the neck in a parking lot.
In a statement, lawyer Tarek El-Awady, part of the legal team representing Ultras groups in their frequent judicial cases, only referred to one sentenced defendant, who was given six months. El-Awady said he expects that the verdict for Mohammed Ayman, who is believed to have featured in the ‘acid’ assault video, will be reduced to three months via appeal.
Since Mansour took up chairmanship of the club, there has been an ongoing feud with the Ultras White Knights, culminating in an alleged assassination attempt on Mansour in August 2014. The Ultras strongly deny the accusations, however, Mansour used his claim to submit a legal complaint to have Egypt’s Ultras movement listed as a terrorist group and banned .
Ultras groups in Egypt are often involved in numerous clashes with security forces. They have become known for their anti-police and anti-government slogans, and played a prominent role in the 25 January Revolution and other confrontations with the police thereafter.
