Egypt has been warned by FIFA that it could face sanctions over government interference in the country’s football federation.

El-Amry Farouk sacked an interim Egyptian Football Association (EFA) board shortly following his appointment as the new sports minister. He named former Ahly keeper Essam Abdel-Moneim as a caretaker chairman until new elections take place within 60 days.

Farouk said FIFA had sent a letter to the EFA warning them of possible sanctions, including a suspension.

“FIFA has received wrong information about the issue. They thought that we sacked an elected board of directors, but this is not the case,” Farouk, previously an Ahly board member, said in a statement.

“We changed the interim chairman because he reached retirement age (70 years). We will send a letter to FIFA within few hours to clarify that. The new board we appointed will be in charge until the new elections.”

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