The Giza Criminal Court of Appeal has upheld a one-year prison sentence, suspended, against footballer Ramadan Sobhy, a player for Pyramids FC, in a case involving the forgery of an official document at a tourism and hotel institute in the Abu Al-Nomros area.
The ruling came after the court reviewed an appeal against the initial verdict, which had sentenced Sobhi to one year in prison with hard labor.
The appeals court confirmed the conviction while ordering the suspension of the sentence for the player.
Earlier, the Giza Criminal Court (Circuit 30) had sentenced Ramadan Sobhi and a second defendant, who was found to have sat an exam on the player’s behalf, to one year in prison with hard labor.
A third defendant was acquitted, while a fourth defendant, who remains at large, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The appeals court later upheld the verdict, applying a suspended sentence in Sobhi’s case.
During the hearing, the court examined the seized evidence, heard arguments from the defense team, and confronted the defendants with the charges listed in the referral order.
All defendants, including Sobhi, denied the accusations.
The case dates back to May, when authorities arrested an individual who was caught taking an examination on behalf of Ramadan Sobhi at a tourism and hotel institute in Abu Al-Nomros.
During questioning, the suspect admitted receiving financial compensation in exchange for entering the exam committee and sitting the test in place of the footballer.
The South Giza Prosecution had previously referred Sobhi and other defendants to criminal trial on forgery charges and ordered his release on bail of EGP 100,000 pending the completion of investigations.
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