The Egypt Football Association (EFA) along with Egyptian clubs decided to ban the Qatari satellite company beIN Sports from covering their games after Egypt cuts ties with the Gulf country on Monday. "The Egyptian FA fully supports the long-awaited decisions of the political administration against an entity that has repeatedly tried to harm our country," a statement by the EFA read. "In agreement we call on all Egyptian clubs and their personnel to suspend all activities with the Qatari sports channels on all contracts or in programming in rejection of the Qatari attitude," the statement added. The statement also said it trusted that the millions of Egyptian fans would support these decisions to defend the country against whoever tries to harm its security and safety. Earlier on Monday, Egypt announced that it was severing diplomatic relations with Qatar due to what it said was the Gulf country's ongoing support for terrorist ideologies and meddling in the internal affairs of Egypt. In total six Arab governments decided to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen, citing Doha's support for Islamist groups and attempts at destabilisation within the region. Ahly, Zamalek and Smouha, which all play in the African competitions, echoed the stance of the EFA. BeIN Sports holds the exclusive rights to cover the African Champions League and the Confederation Cup. The satellite giants will be allowed to broadcast the games but have been banned from conducting other media coverage inside the clubs or holding interviews. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
