Abdullah Qassem will think long and hard before he speaks about Mahdi Ali again.
Qassem’s soccer career currently is on hold after a court in the United Arab Emirates sentenced him to jail for insulting national-team boss Ali in an online video, Reuters reported Monday, citing UAE newspaper The National.
An unnamed club teammate of Qassem filmed him ranting about Ali after the coach omitted him from the latest national-team squad and posted the video online. The Abu Dhabi Court of Misdemeanors convicted Qassam on a pair of charges.
“The duo were found guilty of using telecommunications services to offend and hurt the feelings of others, and displaying a recording that breached public ethics through the internet,” Reuters’ report said.
Qassam’s lawyer claimed he was the victim, arguing his teammate published the video without his permission. The court disagreed.
Ali won’t press charges against Qassem, according to the report. He probably won’t call-up Qassem to the national team anytime soon, either.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@br_uk
