Egypt denies politics behind swim champs pull-out

Cairo: The head of Egypt`s swimming federation on Thursday denied saying that politics were behind his country`s decision to pull out of this month`s short-course swimming championship in Qatar.

"The Egyptian federation`s decision not to participate in the world swimming championships in Qatar was taken for technical reasons which we detailed in our exchanges with the International Swimming Federation," Yasser Idriss told AFP.

"The Egyptian federation has explained that it makes a complete distinction between sports and politics, in accordance with the Olympic charter and the rules of the International Swimming Federation."

AFP had quoted Idriss on November 11 as saying the federation had pulled out of the competition, which ended on Sunday, because of political disagreements with host Qatar.

Qatar had repeatedly denounced Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for his ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, while supporting the Muslim Brotherhood movement that has been outlawed by Cairo.