Embattled Egyptian squash star Mostafa Asal will miss the opening PSA tournament of the season and won’t be eligible to compete again until October after being slapped with another lengthy tour ban, this time amounting to 12 weeks.
The Professional Squash Association (PSA) said on Thursday that Asal had been given a three-month suspension from its flagship tour – commencing from July 18 – for misuse of the racket, unsportsmanlike behaviour and dangerous play on court.
He was also handed an additional £5,000 fine following contentious matches at the World Championships in Chicago where he was a beaten semi-finalist.
- READ MORE: The rollercoaster timeline of Mostafa Asal
The latest suspension is his third overall following a two-month ban in early 2022 and a six-week suspension earlier this year. It means that Asal has now been served with 26 weeks worth of bans in that time.
The latest set of charges levelled at the Egyptian relate to two matches at the World Championships in Chicago.
The PSA said that three separate breaches of the PSA Code of Conduct were broken:
– Article 4.L ‘Abuse of Racket or Equipment’ and Article 4.O ‘Unsportsmanlike Conduct’ during his round three match with Joel Makin at the PSA World Championships on May 6.
– Article 4.N ‘Physical Abuse’ and Article 4.P ‘Dangerous Play’ during the Makin match
– Article 4.0 ‘Unsportsmanlike Conduct’ during his quarter-final match with Mazen Hesham at the PSA World Championships.
The PSA said that its disciplinary committee had determined that the “scale and repetitive nature of these offences amounts to ‘Aggravated Behaviour’ in accordance with Article 6.C of the PSA Code of Conduct, which was taken into account when imposing the above sanction.
“The PSA Disciplinary Committee has noted that Asal expressed remorse for his actions, which was also taken into consideration when deciding on the sanction.”
According to the PSA, the Egyptian accepted the suspension and chose not to exercise his right to appeal during the 15-day appeals period.
The ban means Asal will miss the Paris Squash Alpine tour opener this month and won’t be able to compete again on tour until October 10.
“The PSA will be making no further comment on the matter,” the tour body added.
The three bans are unprecedented on the PSA tour, given such a short timeframe.
In 2005, Australia great David Palmer was given a 13-month ban by the World Squash Federation.
Palmer, who didn’t appeal the decision, was penalised for breaching five articles of the federation’s disciplinary code during the World Doubles Championships in Madras.