The supreme administrative court upheld a ruling that president of the Egyptian Football Association Samir Zaher should be relieved of his duties. A previous verdict was returned against the incumbent president because he was not eligible to run for the EFA presidency in 2008. His appeal was turned down. Zaher will be given the sack once a copy of the verdict has been sent to the Egyptian National Sports Council (NSC). "It should be effective immediately," a source from the NSC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FilGoal.com on Saturday. "The EFA's vice-president Hani Abou-Reida will act as a stop-gap president until the general assembly convenes to elect a new one." Zaher was elected as the EFA president for a second successive term in November 2008 after collecting 87 votes out of 112.
Abou-Reida set to replace Zaher One of his competitors, former Ismaili player Osama Khalil, appealed against the election results on the grounds that Zaher should not have been allowed to run for the prestigious presidential seat. The court said Zaher's criminal record, which includes convictions against him in the past, made him ineligible to stand for the election. Egypt won the African Cup of Nations three times in a row in 2006, 2008 and 2010 during Zaher's two spells at the helm. He was also praised for generating income for Egyptian clubs through selling the league's broadcasting rights to several TV networks. However, critics sharpened the knives for him during the past year after many disputes erupted in domestic football. Zaher would have stepped down as the EFA president anyway in 2011 because regulations would not have allowed him to remain in his post for a third successive stint.
