Nigerian footballer Stephen Worgu has been sentenced to 40 lashes after he was convicted of drinking alcohol in Sudan where he plays for first division side Al-Merreikh of Omdurman.
Stephen Worgu, who signed a reported multi-million dollar contact with Omdurman club Al Merreikh last year, said he was innocent and determined to win an appeal against the sentence.
It was the latest in a series of high profile cases where Sudan’s brand of Islamic law has come under the spotlight. A British teacher was jailed after letting her class name a teddy bear Mohammad in 2007 and a Sudanese journalist was imprisoned in September after being convicted of indecency for wearing trousers. Both women had faced a maximum sentence of flogging.
The court ordered Worgu to pay a fine of $20 for the alcohol consumption, $80 for driving under the influence as well as receiving 40 lashes for the incident which is said to have taken place in the capital Khartoum on August 21.
