Over 150 Egyptians gathered outside the Algerian Embassy in Cairo last night to protest against the violence of Algerian fans in Sudan, which left many Egyptians injured.
On Wednesday, at the final Fifa World Cup qualifier for African nations, Egyptian fans at Sudan’s Merriekh Stadium in Khartoum were attacked by Algerian fans with machetes and rocks.
Several students from the American University in Cairo joined in the protest, which was near AUC’s Zamalek dorms.
“The protest was more political because of what happened in Sudan, it was not over a soccer game,” said Sandy Hamzah, an International Business student.
Egyptian Police surrounded the Algerian Embassy to keep protesters from actually entering the embassy’s grounds. Several Egyptian Police were injured as the protest later turned violent.
Hamzah, who participated in the protest, points out that protest was “patriotic.”
“We [Egyptians] were disgusted over what happened to our people in Sudan and Algeria,” Hamzah said. “After we lost the final game, we didn’t terrorize their businesses or target them with knives.”
The violence between Algeria and Egypt sparked when the Algerian team accused Egyptians of attacking their bus with rocks on their way to Cairo stadium for the Nov. 14 match. Several Algerian team members went to the match with wounds to the head. The game ended with Egypt defeating Algeria 2-0.
“The protest was very intense, we wanted to make it clear that what happened in Sudan and Algeria was unacceptable,” Heba Nour, AUC study abroad student said.
“We were being attacked with rocks and knives as we were rushing to get in the stadium,” said Ahmed Abd El Raouf, an AUC student who attended the match in Sudan.
Amidst all the violence, Raouf pointed out the Egyptians were not defending themselves as they were more concerned with escaping the Algerian fans.
Artists like Egyptian singer Mohamed Fouad and actor Maged El Masry were at the game. Fouad called Egyptian Talk Show Host Amr Adeeb on his show to ask for help as he hid out from the Algerian fans, on their way out after the game.
According to Agence France Presse (AFP), Egyptian companies Orascom and Egypt Air were “ransacked” in response to the Nov. 14 match.
Tension between Egyptian and Algerian soccer fans dates back to Fifa World Cup Qualifiers of 1989 when Algerian player Lakhdar Belloumi took the Egyptian team’s doctor eye out, leaving him blind in one eye.
-By Reem Abdellatif
November 22nd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Yes, nothing says ’screw you’ to Algeria like injuring 35 of your fellow Egyptians and destroying police cars and Egyptian businesses. That will teach them! Perhaps instead of grown men acting like children, perhaps next time try starting a protest that doesn’t involve chanting slurs against an entire country, and burning a country’s flag. Oh ya, and the whole violently injuring one another, and damaging nearby businesses.