Khaberni - After repeated incidents of the death of young athletes due to negligence, an Egyptian court sentenced sports officials in Sinai to a year in prison and a monetary fine.
The Tor Sinai Misdemeanor Court decided yesterday, Saturday, to imprison both the manager of the Al-Sahel Youth Center in Tor Sinai and the head of the facility’s sports fields for one year, fining them 10,000 Egyptian pounds each, and requiring them to pay a temporary civil compensation of 5,000 Egyptian pounds, after their negligence was proven to have led to the death of a child after a goalpost fell on him while he was playing in the field.
The goalpost fell on his head
The incident dates back to May of last year, when authorities were notified of a goalpost falling down within the Al-Sahel Youth Center in Tor Sinai on the head of the child named Seif M.K. "14 years old", resulting in severe injuries. After being transported to the hospital in an attempt to save his life, he breathed his last, succumbing to his injuries.
The child’s mother told authorities that her son had gone to the youth center to play football with his friends, and then she received a call informing her of his injury. She immediately went there, believing he had suffered a broken foot or arm, only to receive the shocking news of his death.
She further stated that her son's death was due to gross negligence by the officials of the youth center, noting that he remained under the fallen goalpost for about half an hour until the arrival of the ambulance, without any intervention from officials to save him, which led to his demise.
The sports field was not fit for use
Following the accident, Mohamed Fathy, the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport in South Sinai, decided to suspend the accused workers pending the investigation. The Governor of South Sinai also ordered a committee to inspect the field and determine its condition at the time of the incident.
The committee's report indicated that the field was unfit for sporting activities and needed comprehensive maintenance, with worn and unsafe goalposts, no security personnel or warning signs, and dilapidated fences allowing public access, representing severe negligence by those in charge of the youth center.
Similar incidents of negligence
It is worth mentioning that in December last year, the Egyptian Public Prosecutor referred the president and members of the Swimming Federation's board, along with a number of officials from the federation, to urgent criminal proceedings, after investigations revealed a series of violations and negligence that led to the drowning of the child swimmer "Yousef Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Malek," without immediate rescue.
In June last year, an Egyptian court sentenced Egyptian officials to three years in prison for negligence, causing the death of a young karate player during a match.
The incident dates back to March, where Yousef Ahmed, a young Egyptian karate player, died after being in a coma for 41 days caused by injuries sustained during a match in a local tournament.
Mustafa El-Betity, the player’s coach, previously stated to "Alarabiya.net" that it was possible to save the young athlete after he sustained injuries if an equipped ambulance had been available and he had been promptly attended to, noting that the ambulance present at the site was not equipped for rescue.
