March 21 (Reuters) - The world number one player in
men's squash, Mostafa Asal, has been suspended for six weeks
with immediate effect over incidents of dangerous play, the
Professional Squash Association confirmed on Monday.
The 21-year-old Egyptian, who has been involved in a number
of incidents in the past few years, will miss the Optasia and
British Open tournaments as a result.
"Mr Asal had been charged with two separate breaches of the
PSA Code of Conduct 'Dangerous Play' during his quarter-final
and semi-final matches at the 2022 CIB Egyptian Open," the PSA
said in a statement without elaborating.
The player responded to the news of his suspension with a
comment on Facebook, writing: "Ahahahahaha WR 1 Mostafa Asal has
been given*. Good luck with your sport".
At the tournament last September, Asal lost in the
semi-finals to the eventual champion Ali Farag.
In a separate incident the following month, Asal was
disqualified from the U.S. Open after accidentally hitting
Frenchman Lucas Serme in the head with the ball in the second
round.
In January, Asal became the third-youngest holder of the
world number one ranking after Pakistani greats Jahangir Khan
(18 years) and Jansher Khan (18 years and six months).
One week later his father Mahmoud Asal was banned from PSA
World Tour tournaments until November after a confrontation at
the Egyptian Open with the main sponsor of the tournament, with
PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough having to intervene.
Also in January, Asal withdrew from the Tournament of
Champions in New York citing breathing problems when playing
against Frenchman Victor Crouin in the third round.
He later wrote on Facebook that he was under psychological
and nervous pressure from those in charge of the game in Egypt.
The Egyptian youth and sports minister then contacted Asal's
club Al-Ahly asking it to provide the ministry with any evidence
related to the matter.
"The Ministry affirms our support to the player, especially
in light of his financial sponsorship from Ezz Steel Company,
which is not inconsistent with CIB Bank's sponsorship of other
Egyptian players," the Ministry said in the statement.
(Reporting by Osama Khairy and Shady Amir; Editing by Hugh
Lawson)
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