President Hosni Mubarak met Monday with the national football team over a breakfast reception held at the presidential palace, in honor of the team players and management.
"Never mind the World Cup. All I care for is your safety," Mubarak told the team, in reference to the Egyptian accusations against Algerian fans of staging acts of hooliganism.
Meanwhile, National Sports Council President Hassan Saqr said the council decided to boycott Algeria in all sports events. "Forty-six different Egyptian sports federations have agreed to that decision," he noted.
National Democratic Party (NDP) Policies Secretary, and president’s son, Gamal Mubarak again said the assaults on the Egyptian fans were deliberate. "They will have to bear the consequences," he warned.
Moreover, the state-sponsored Egyptian Trade Union Federation called for cutting relations with its Algerian counterpart. Also, Federation President and NDP MP Hussein Megawer submitted an official complaint to the World Labor Organization on violations against Egyptian workers living in Algeria.
The Muslim Brotherhood group, however, called for "calm investigation" into the problems with Algeria.
The Lawyers Syndicate announced that it would file international lawsuits against the Algerian officials that it held responsible.
Contrary to the Egyptian officials’ early statements regarding their possession of "visual evidence" of the Algerian violations, chances for Egypt’s petition to replay the match have become rather scarce, as the Egyptian football federation failed to submit photos or video shoots that prove the alleged assaults. Also, the Sudanese security services report contained no explicit accusation against the Algerians.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
