Stung Egypt in diplomatic row after Algeria loss

Egypt, whose state-owned media staked so much on qualifying for the World Cup finals for the first time in two decades, vented its anguish on Thursday in an escalating diplomatic row with its Algerian vanquishers.

The Egyptian government called in the Algerian ambassador and then recalled its own envoy from Algiers for consultations in protest at what it said was a spate of attacks on Egyptians and Egyptian interests.

Sudan, which hosted the make-or-break World Cup qualification play-off in which the Arab world’s most populous nation went down 1-0, was dismissive of the Egyptian complaints and summoned Cairo’s ambassador to complain against the allegations of trouble in Khartoum.

Khartoum police insisted that only four fans sustained just minor injuries.

Egypt also announced it was suspending its membership of the Union of North African Football Federations, complaining that Algerian fans had thrown stones at its fans in Sudan.

The Egyptian Football Federation wrote to its counterparts in Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia charging that its fans had come under sustained assault during the make-or-break qualification play-off on Wednesday, the state MENA news agency reported.

The government also retaliated diplomatically.

An Egyptian foreign ministry official told AFP its ambassador had been recalled for “consultations” to signal “Egypt’s extreme displeasure with the assaults on Egyptian citizens who went to Khartoum to support the Egyptian team.”

It was the second summons in a week for Ambassador Abdelkader Hadjar, who was called to the Cairo foreign ministry last week after Algerian fans attacked Egyptian businesses and homes in Algiers.

“Egypt also expressed its outrage and it denunciation after continuing reports and many appeals from Egyptian citizens residing in Algeria over the assaults and intimidation they face,” the statement said.

But Khartoum police spokesman Abdel Majid al-Tayeb rejected Egypt’s allegations of assaults against its fans.

“There were minor incidents; four people were lightly wounded,” Tayeb, whose forces mounted a massive security operation for Wednesday’s grudge match, told a press conference.

Egyptian fans told AFP stones were thrown at their bus as they made their way back to Khartoum airport after the loss, which followed a 2-0 victory for Egypt in Cairo on Saturday.

In an interview with state television, Egyptian Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali said 21 Egyptians were injured in attacks in Sudan. “All of them are considered minor injuries,” he said.

Before the match in Cairo, several Algerian footballers were hurt after the team bus was stoned on the way from the airport to the team hotel.

A similar fate befell some visiting supporters after Egypt won the game, leaving the teams neck and neck in their qualifying group and triggering the replay in Khartoum.

People then took to the streets in Algiers, attacking 15 offices belonging to a local subsidiary of Egypt’s Orascom Telecom and twice ransacking the Algiers offices of Egypt Air.

The attacks prompted Orascom to pull out 25 Egyptian employees and their families.

In its statement, the foreign ministry in Cairo said the Egyptian companies had begun seeking compensation for the losses sustained in the attacks.

Orascom executive chief Naguib Sawaris said earlier this week that Orascom suffered at least five million dollars (3.4 million) in damage.