National team head coach Hossam Hassan was banned from media appearances on Wednesday following coverage of a dispute involving his ex-wife.

The ban takes immediate effect and covers all media outlets subject to Egypt’s press and media law, No. 180 of 2018. The Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) did not specify how long the ban would last.

The regulator also confirmed that an existing ban on appearances by Hassan’s former wife, Dan Adam, remains in force.

It said legal representatives of several websites would be summoned to hearings over alleged violations of privacy rules, warning of further legal action against outlets that repeated the coverage.

Media should be a place for information, “not an arena for settling personal disputes or exchanging accusations”, the council said.

It added that personal disputes were matters for investigators and the courts, and said Egypt’s coaching staff needed an environment that allowed them to focus on upcoming matches.

The council had already intervened in September, when it barred Adam from media appearances and summoned representatives of multiple television channels over their coverage of the matter.

At the time, it also wrote to the Egyptian Football Association, asking it to take whatever action it considered appropriate regarding Hassan and the dispute.

The decision comes as Egypt prepare for two Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Malawi this month.

Hassan is already serving a three-match FIFA suspension announced in October over comments following Egypt’s World Cup defeat to Argentina. Team director Ibrahim Hassan received the same ban, while Mostafa Ziko was suspended for five matches.

Egypt’s training camp begins on November 9. They host Malawi in Cairo on November 13 before playing the return fixture in Malawi four days later.