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FIFA has fined the Egyptian football team $100,000 after the squad's players refused to speak to Qatar's beIN Sports channel during games at the ongoing World Cup in Russia.
The New Arab's Arabic-language service reported that football's international governing body imposed the hefty fine after the broadcaster filed a complaint.
The report said that Egyptian players refused to give interviews with beIN in the designated media zone during the Pharaohs' first game against Uruguay last week.
"President of Egyptian Football Association Hany Abo Rida rebuked the players for the incident and demanded they assign someone to speak to the channel during their second match against Russia," the report said. It added that Abo Rida is attempting to convince FIFA officials to scrap the fine.
beIN channel is the exclusive rights holder in the MENA region for the World Cup and the European championships.
