Cairo: In an unprecedented scene in the history of Egyptian football, violence was the main player between Egypt’s el-Zamalek team and the Tunisian team on Saturday. The match between the two teams was going well and there were many hopes that the Egyptian team could make it to African champion league. It was described as the most unethical behavior that a football match could witness. A mass of thugs invaded the pitch of Cairo stadium, objecting to the Algerian referee’s decision to not count a goal of the Egyptian team, leaving the result 2-1 for the Egyptian team.
Zamalek-Africain clash was called off after violence erupted at Cairo Stadium
It began with one Zamalek fan walking onto the pitch. He was followed en masse by Zamalek supporters, and security was unable to disperse the angry crowds or to protect the Tunisian and the Egyptian teams.
Many fled the field after their clothes were ripped. Some were stripped of their clothes, and Zamalek’s coach fainted. The army was forced to step in and more than 20 ambulances were sent to the scene.
The head of Egypt’s team has announced that these violent actions come out of dearth behavior, and offered a sincere apology on behalf of Egyptians to our brothers in Tunisia. He also asserted that “this couldn’t be our club behavior,” though we are trying to reach any compromise to erase the damages in what he described as a folly.
Some have expressed their concern that the ‘counter-revolution’ may be reaching even football pitches, where football spirit should be dominating. Also all Egyptians condemn what happened, urging the Tunisian team to accept their apology. They have created a page on Facebook called, ’On behalf of Egypt, we are sorry Tunisia.’ The Tunisian people have responded with another page: “No apologies between liberal nations.”
The reaction of the Tunisian people seems to be a sign of the close relation between the two nations after their successes in toppling their former authoritarian regimes. Another page titled, “Apology is accepted, Egyptian people,” gave a feeling of relief to Egyptians that Tunisians understand that what happened was out of their control in a time when things are still unstable, and that it was never a question of the ethics of the Egyptian people.
