(Cartoon from Al-Quds Al-Arabi)
Amid rumors of attacks on Egyptian fans in Khartoum, Cairo has taken the shocking (un)diplomatic step of withdrawing its ambassador from Algiers. The Egyptian foreign ministry had earlier summoned the Algerian ambassador to hand him a letter of protest over the behavior of Algerian fans.
Meanwhile, the Sudanese foreign ministry rejects reports in the Egyptian media of widespread Algerian attacks on Egyptians in Khartoum following the game. FIFA is going to investigate the attack on Algeria' national team in Cairo. Egypt is likely to be fined over the incident.
1 comment:
interestingly, there actually was a "football war." In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador actually fought a war following riots sparked by a World Cup qualifier match between the two countries. The emotion of the match was the catalyst to a brief war in which thousands were killed. Of course, there were underlying tensions between the two countries (mostly over immigration and land use), but these issues alone were not enough to spark a war. This required real visceral emotion, which of course football provides to the utmost.
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