Members from the local council in Giza are looking for ways to address the alleged assaults on Egyptian fans by Algerian spectators following the World Cup qualifying match in Sudan last Saturday.
The council decided to target street names in Mohandiseen, and to attempt to change the name of "el-Gaza’er" (Algeria Street) to Shehata Street, in honor of the Egyptian national soccer coach Hassan Shehata. "The violations committed against our supporters after the decisive match in Sudan were humiliating to the Egyptian people and require an appropriate response," said Adli Rashed, a member of the council.
"We offered our suggestion to the head of the council and to the governor of Giza, said Rashed, adding that the suggested street names include Hassan Shehata, Mahmoud el-Gohari and el-Orouba.
Mostafa el-Khateeb, head of the council, urged the government to recall the Egyptian ambassador to Algeria and called on the Algerian President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika to apologize to the Egyptian people. However, el-Khateeb expressed his opposition to changing the name of the street, as he saw the decision as an impulsive response and an escalation that will not restore dignity to the Egyptians. "The appropriate escalation would be to sever relations with the Algerian government if it does not officially apologize to the Egyptians," el-Khateeb said.
In a related development, some members of Facebook are calling a square in Maadi to be renamed from el-Gaza’er Square (Algeria Square), to Meteb Square (an Egyptian football player), Hassan Shehata Square or 14 November Square (the date of the first match between Egypt and Algeria). A second Facebook group is calling for a memo to be sent to FIFA, which affirms that Articles 10, 26 and 28 of FIFA’s rules give Egypt the right to dispute the match result and call for an annulment of the results.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
