- Al Ahly boss Thorup sounds warning to Emam Ashour as the coach addresses discipline ahead of Yanga clash.
- Ashour, who is one of the key players for the team, failed to travel with the squad to Zanzibar.
- Al Ahly announced the player was fined EGP 1.5 million (Ksh 4.1 million) and will be suspended for two weeks.
Al Ahly head coach Jess Thorup has made it clear that no player is bigger than the club following Emam Ashour’s controversial decision to miss their trip to Zanzibar where they will face Young Africans SC in matchday 4 of the 25/26 CAF Champions League Group Stage.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of the clash set for Saturday 31 January 2026 at the Amaan Stadium, Thorup emphasized that the player will face the consequences of his actions to serve as an example to the team.
“The player made a mistake. I said from the first day I was in this club that nobody is above the team. The team is the star, so of course this player (Ashour) will be punished,” Thorup told SportPesa Blog.
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Al Ahly boss Thorup sounds warning to Emam Ashour
Al Ahly, who are 12-time record African champions, decided to impose the largest fine in the club’s history on Ashour following his failure to travel with the squad.
Reports indicate that Ashour was infuriated with the fact that Al Ahly turned down a transfer offer that came from the USA.
In an official statement, The Red Devils announced that Ashour was fined EGP 1.5 million (around Ksh 4.1 million) and will be suspended for two weeks and will train alone in addition to the financial penalty
“Captain Walid Salah El-Din, the football director, decided to suspend Emam Ashour, a player on the first football team for two weeks and fine him 1.5 million Egyptian pounds due to his failure to travel with the team this morning to Tanzania. The player will train alone throughout the suspension period,” Al Ahly announced.
Speaking on the clash, Thorup called on his players to complete the double over Yanga as they aim to finish top of Group B.
“The last game against Yanga was very good for us. We scored two goals but we could have scored even more. We now have a very good position in the group with 7 points after three games but we know we still have three games left.
We start with Yanga who have some very strong individual players. We need to reach our best level to win this game and get a very good opportunity in the group,” Thorup remarked.
Al Ahly currently top Group B and are yet to taste defeat in the group stage this season, winning twice and drawing once in the three games they have played.
Yanga sit second on 4 points while FAR Rabat andJS Kabylie are tied on 2 points.
