Red card: Egypt football team boots player over sexual harassment allegations amid African Cup

The Egyptian football team has booted a player amid the African Cup of Nations over sexual harassment allegations, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Wednesday.

The Egyptian Football Association said winger Amr Warda would be excluded from the rest of Egypt's matches at the tournament to "ensure discipline and focus" within the team.

The move comes after several women took to social media to expose the 25-year-old for sexually harassing them on social media, hours ahead of the host nations' second game against DR Congo.

Instagram model Merhan Keller earlier this week posted screen grabs of private conversations with the footballer, showing unwanted, aggressive sexual advances.

Since Keller went public, other women have come forward with images of similar interactions with the midfielder.

Egypt's head coach brushed aside the scandal on Tuesday, insisting that Warda would play in the clash against DR Congo.

"Warda is with the team. Warda is training very well. Everybody is following the rules. My rules. After that I have nothing to say," Javier Aguirre.

Warda, who came on as a substitute in Egypt's first game against Zimbabwe on Friday, was allegedly booted from Greek team PAOK last year for sexually harassing wives of his teammates.

Warda, who currently plays for Greek side Atromitos, has shut down his Instagram account since the women have gone public with their allegations.

The Arab world's most populous country has one of the world's highest rates of sexual harassment.

Some 60 percent of women in Egypt say they have been victims of some form of sexual harassment during their life, according to a 2017 report by UN Women and Promundo, an organisation that engages men and boys in tackling gender violence.

Egypt opened the tournament on Friday by beating outsider Zimbabwe 1-0 in Cairo, providing relief for the host nation.

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