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Latest update: 22/11/2009
- Algeria - Egypt - football
Mubarak vows to protect nationals amid football row
President Hosni Mubarak vowed Saturday that Egypt will be firm in dealing with any attacks on its nationals as a row with Algeria over a World Cup football qualifier turned into a diplomatic dispute.
By News Wires (text)
AFP - President Hosni Mubarak vowed on Saturday that Egypt will be firm in dealing with attacks on its nationals, amid hot tempers and a diplomatic spat with Algeria over a World Cup football showdown.
"Egypt will not be lax with those who harm the dignity of its sons," he told cheering MPs in parliament.
"The welfare of our citizens abroad is the responsibility of the country. We look after their rights and reject violations and transgressions against them," he said in his first apparent reference to the diplomatic row with Algiers.
The row has erupted between Algeria and Egypt since a bus carrying the Algerian football team was stoned in Cairo last week and Egyptians were attacked by Algerian fans in Khartoum and Algiers.
Egypt twice summoned the Algerian ambassador in Cairo and on Thursday recalled its envoy in Algiers.
The dispute broke out ahead of a crunch match staged in Cairo on November 14, after Egyptian fans had stoned a bus carrying the Algerian players on its way from the airport.
Egypt beat Algeria 2-0, leading to a play-off in Khartoum for a place at next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.
Busses carrying Algerian fans were stoned after the Cairo match and fans clashed outside hotels housing the Algerians, leaving at least 20 Algerian fans and 12 Egyptians wounded.
The attack led to reprisals in Algeria against Egyptian homes and businesses.
Protesters in Algiers attacked 15 offices of a local subsidiary of Egypt's Orascom Telecom, prompting the firm to evacuate its 25 Egyptian employees and their families, and twice ransacked the Algiers offices of EgyptAir.
After the play-off in Khartoum on Wednesday, won by Algeria, Algerian fans attacked busses carrying Egyptians who were heading to Khartoum airport for the return home.
The media of both countries have traded invective and circulated rumours of Egyptian and Algerian deaths despite denials by both governments.
In a rare public statement, Mubarak's elder son Alaa who was at the Khartoum game slammed the Algerian fans as "mercenaries" and said the Egyptian team had faced "terror" in Khartoum.
"There appears to be something strange in the composition of Algeria -- it has spite and malice towards Egypt," he was quoted by state news agency MENA as telling a television sports programme.
Reports of the attacks in Khartoum, which Egyptian Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali said lightly wounded 21 fans, enraged Egyptians.
An angry protest early on Friday outside the Algerian embassy resulted in clashes between demonstrators and riot police protecting the mission, leaving 35 policemen injured.
Algiers on Friday summoned Egypt's ambassador to protest at attacks on Algeria by the Egyptian media, APS news agency reported.
It said Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci had expressed "incomprehension and major concern" at what he called "the escalating media campaign" in Egypt.
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(11) Reactions
long history of Algerian violence
It's a long history of Algerian violence against Egyptian players and Egyptians in general. This is caused by the inferiority complex against Egypt and the violent nature of Algerians. It's well known that it happened in France, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya canceled a match with Algeria in the past of the same reason. It was not soccer and it's enough for this Algerian violence.
http://www.wasnotsoccer.com/
Egypt start the bad
The story of football in Egypt.We know that Tunisian,Morocco,Angola....etc they have been attack from Egyptian and that way they are macking noise for the FIFA do not give them bad reputation and big fined for them. for the fans is always fight betwen them but to attack the players is very bad situation, i hope that the FIFA will punish them at list 4 years with out any competition.
Where is the sportmen ship in all that???
The king of Egypt, oops I meant the president of Egypt concerned about the dignity of its sons?? How about poverty? How about their healths??? How about their rights as human being??? Come on give me a break! we are not embicile to believe all Those empty words.
This has got out of hand,
This has got out of hand, over exagerated for such a minor thing- just another excuse to make North Africans look ridicule
Sorry, but your story starts from a wrong point
The story should start with the attack led by an Algerian player in 1989, after the match that led Egypt to the World Cup of FIFA, and where he staped a man in one of his eyes, making him lose sight in it! That was an ongoing case since then, and the Egyptian citizen attacked gave in, this year, at Egypt's request and compensation!!! So?? The start of the story from the historical side isn't precise!
WE NEED OUR RIGHT BACK
Threat and intimidation of Algerians for Egyptians What happened in the game between Egypt and Algeria established in the Sudan from the terrorism ( they used even knife's as a threat) of the masses of Algerians and the instigation of the Algerian football federation event does not belong to football and inconsistent with the policy of "Fair Play" from FIFA and declared that the first thing that happened before the game to break into the Algerian public to pitch and what happened in the Algerian football players before the match and during the national anthems of both teams. Algerian government send over 4000 from her troops and they take places from the stadium all way to the airport to attack and kill the Egyptian IF Egypt win the game Everything happened was planning by the Algerian government ( this is the Fair play?) The terror the Egyptians had faced before and after the game in Sudan and Algeria, all this has had a clear impact on the outcome of the game. So we would like the FIFA to take the appropriate decision, by writing off the Algerian national team or a re-match behind closed doors and we will never Going to give up to get our rights back please help us to send this to All the news and Let the whole world know about those terrorism. thank you so much.
name: Mohamed Hamed Hammad
Country: USA New york
Tell:1(646)932-3514
The Egyptian started all
The Egyptian started all this, now they are crying like little girls. When are they going to grow up and act like men?.when they played aganist Algeria at Algeria nothing happend to their team. When the Algerian team came to Cairo they throw them by rocks, that was disgesting, disrespectfull and unarab behavior. They started all this and the brave Algerian finished it.
Then please tell me where all
Then please tell me where all the footage that can be seen on youtube concerning egyptian attacks on algerians came from. It's true that algerians were in Sudan in larges numbers, but thats just the thing. It would have been a true disaster if they alle attacked the egyptians, and still there is no footage at all.
And please check the films on youtube about egyptians fighting tunesians and the team of other African countries. Or are they also lying?
Algeria and violent spot history
I urge all to think or look back at the history of violence in Algeria related to sports and even local and social events.the entire crisis a a true reflection of Algeria's history..past present and future. This will not be the lasr incident and FIFA should set and inforce the standards of fair play in and out the pitch. Yasser / Toronto
The Algerians did not attack
The Algerians did not attack the egyptian bussen in Sudan. There were alot of media there and there is not one picture that backs this story up. There was an egyptian doketr that said that the very light wounds of the egyptians came because of the crowd. It was very crowded and people bumped into eachother.