Egyptian newspaper censored for front-page dedication to blacklisted ex-footballer

Egyptian authorities on Friday banned the circulation of an edition of an Egyptian weekly newspaper after it was set to distribute an image of polarising ex-football player Mohamed Aboutrika on its cover.

The cover of al-Musriye was set to contain an image of Aboutrika along with his mother superimposed on a black background along with a "zajal" or "ode" in solidarity with the former Egyptian international which included the words "they call you a terrorist".

Egypt's government has previously frozen Aboutrika's assets, accusing him of financing the Muslim Brotherhood, which Cairo categorised as a "terrorist organisation” in 2013.

The former footballer's father recently died in Egypt.

However, Aboutrika did not return for the funeral for fear of arrest, instead remaining in Qatar where he works as a pundit.  

Aboutrika, one of the most successful African footballers of his generation, publicly endorsed the presidential bid of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi in 2012, a move that alienated some fans, and consequently raised the attention of the Sisi government once it took power in a military coup that toppled Morsi in July 2013. 

The circulation of the al-Musriye edition was stopped by an order from the state-owned Al-Ahram press, according to local media.

It has previously been censored on at least two occasions for carrying interviews with a Muslim Brotherhood-linked figure, and a former intelligence agent.