Keeper

Alex Manninger played for Arsenal, Liverpool and Juventus at peak of his career while winning 33 Austria caps.

Former Austria goalkeeper Alex Manninger, who played for Arsenal and a string of Italian clubs, has died at ⁠the age of 48 when the car he was driving was hit by a train at a crossing near Salzburg.

The Austrian Football Association (OEFB) and clubs associated with ⁠the player, who retired as a professional in 2017, mourned his passing on Thursday.

Manninger made 33 appearances for Austria and played for Arsenal from 1997 to 2001 with the club winning the league title and FA Cup in the 1997-1998 season. He ‌ended his career at Liverpool in 2017.

In Italy, the Austrian played for Fiorentina, Torino, Bologna, Siena, Udinese and Juventus.

“Alexander Manninger was an outstanding ambassador of Austrian football on and off the pitch,” OEFB Sporting Director Peter Schoettel said in a statement.

“With his international career, he has set standards and inspired and shaped many young goalkeepers. His professionalism, his calmness and his reliability made him an ⁠important part of his teams and also of the national ⁠team.”

Salzburg police said in a statement that the accident happened about 8:20am (06:20 GMT). First responders freed the driver from the vehicle, but resuscitation was unsuccessful.

“According to initial investigations, the car was ⁠hit by a railcar of the Salzburger Lokalbahn while crossing the railway crossing and dragged along. The driver was alone ⁠in the vehicle. The train driver was uninjured,” ⁠the police said.

Fiorentina said they will observe a minute’s silence and wear black armbands for Thursday’s home Conference League game with Crystal Palace while league leaders Arsenal conveyed their shock on social media.

Other clubs, including ‌Liverpool, issued statements of condolence.

“Today is a very sad day. We have lost not only a great athlete, but a man of rare values: humility, dedication, and ‌an ‌exceptional sense of professionalism,” Juventus said

“Alex Manninger will be remembered for the example he set, on and off the pitch.”

El-Shenawy was incensed ‌after Al-Ahly’s ​appeal for a penalty following ​a handball in stoppage time was denied.

Al-Ahly goalkeeper ⁠Mohamed El-Shenawy ⁠has been handed a four-match ban after striking a referee on ⁠the head following a 1-1 draw with Ceramica Cleopatra, the ⁠Egyptian Pro League said on Thursday.

The Egypt international, who was on the bench for Tuesday’s game, was incensed ‌after Al-Ahly’s appeal for a penalty following a handball in stoppage time was denied.

“He handed a four-match ban and fined 50,000 Egyptian pounds [$942] for assaulting the ⁠referee by pushing or ⁠pulling,” the league said in a statement.

The ban means ⁠El-Shenawy, who is expected to be Egypt’s starting ⁠goalkeeper at the World ⁠Cup in North America, will be sidelined until the final week of the league ‌playoffs.

Al-Ahly are third on 41 points, five points behind leaders Zamalek.

So much has happened over the past seven days, including Champions League thrashings, Six Nations firsts and Winter Paralympics drama.

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