u/ClassLittle6666

Q: Mostafa, what's one thing people assume about you that is completely wrong?

A: Not sure to be honest cause I am good in everything

Where are the fans? Are people tuning out of squash? This is the biggest event of the year and the views are down from even Optasia

Just wanted to share my thoughts, which is that I think the Asal situation is impossible to manage.

The decisions were nearly all correct. No-one can argue that a single hand brush in isolation is a conduct stroke, or a trip in isolation, or an isolated swing to the head that Elias ducks underneath. In isolation, these are impossible to penalise.

But when Asal combines these contacts together all the time, every rally, it is unwatchable. It meant Elias was ducking, tripping and being knocked all of the time which made it impossible to maintain the accuracy needed in the third. How do you deal with this?

Andrea Santa Maria tried the Conduct Stroke in El Gouna for EXACTLY this reason - "an accumulation of poor movement". Her reward? She got lambasted and criticized for ruining the match. She got abused out of the arena. EVERYONE, including people who HATE Asal said it was wrong or harsh. No-one stuck up for her, including me. The result? The referees went back to a year ago, repeated warnings and no punishment. Ultimately leading to an unwatchable third game and Elias giving up afterwards.

So essentially we either get a match like yesterday, or we get a finale like El Gouna. That's the reality no-one wants to accept. Either the refs do nothing and Asal cheats his way to dominance, or the referees are forced to appear overbearing and get criticised to death.

Asal has completely ruined elite squash and if this is the future of PSA squash, I'm out.

Asal has this tactic where he hits a backhand drive and lingers in the opponent's line of sight for as long as he can, just brushing into them as they move past him. It's not "blocking" in the traditional sense - he is letting them through - but each time you see the opponent adapt their movement and hesitate in their racket preparation.

What's it called? A lingerer?

1. The venues are windy, humid and dusty. Court service is unorganized, the referees have to ask for a second person because no-one wants to do it. It's amateurish

2. The venues never accommodate a reasonable camera placement. The camera is excessively zoomed in leading to distorted depth perception. The cameras also shake constantly!

3. The crowds are racist and dead, they never cheer for anyone non-Egpytian. Elias won the WC in 2024 and you could hear a pin drop, that is racist. You support your own but to not even acknowledge someone foreign winning the event is racist. Also, there is always someone going mental with a whistle for no reason.

4. They get so many top events! There are 4 events in Egypt this season Plat or higher, including the World Champs itself...

Why is there nothing done about this?

https://www.psasquashtour.com/news/asal-elias-fined-breaches-psa-code-conduct/

Asal has been given a £4,000 fine.

Article 4.U. ‘Unsportsmanlike Conduct’ during his semi-final match with Joel Makin at the Optasia Championships on 28th March 2026.
Article 4.U. ‘Unsportsmanlike Conduct’ during his final match with Diego Elias at the Optasia Championships on 29th March 2026.
Article 4.U. ‘Unsportsmanlike Conduct’ during his semi-final match with Diego Elias at the El Gouna International Squash Open on 9th April 2026.
Article 4.Q. ‘Dangerous Play’ during his semi-final match with Diego Elias at the El Gouna International Squash Open on 9th April 2026.

Elias has been given a £1,000 fine.

Article 4.H. ‘Visible Obscenity’ during his final match with Mostafa Asal at the Optasia Championships on 29th March 2026.

You can see Karakal have 8 bevels, just like badminton and tennis rackets. Yet brands like Dunlop, Tecnifibre, Unsquashable, etc all have rounded edges, with brands like Head making them extra round. Why?