Captain of the victorious Algerian team Riyad Mahrez faces being banned from Egypt after snubbing the country’s Prime Minister and Sports Minister at the presentation ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Mahrez shook hands with FIFA boss Gianni Infantino and was due to be greeted by Mostafa Madbouly and Ashraf Sobhy, who were next in the line-up to meet him, after the final against Senegal in Cairo last Friday.
But instead the Manchester City winger turned his back on the men and walked away to be handed the trophy by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Ahmad Ahmad. The 28-year-old player then joined his players for the celebrations after the team had beaten Senegal 1-0 in the final.
Sports website, Scenes!, posted a clip of the snub on its Twitter feed saying: ‘When receiving the AFCON trophy for Algeria, captain Riyad Mahrez avoids Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who is well known to be a part of a cruel and corrupt Egyptian regime’.
Now Mahrez faces being banned from entering Egypt – which hosted the tournament – after the Attorney General, Nabil Ahmed Sadiq, received a complaint from lawyer Sami Sambri. If Sadiq authorizes the ban, Mahrez will join Egyptian footballer Mohamed Aboutrika on the no entry list.
The 40-year-old was targeted by the Egyptian authorities after a video was circulated in which he proclaimed his support for Mohammed Mursi in the 2012 presidential elections.
Following the discovery Aboutrika had his assets seized, was accused of tax evasion and placed on a terror list for allegedly financing the Muslim Brotherhood, the party Mursi led to victory at the polls before being overthrown in an army coup.
Following Algeria’s semi-final win hundreds of fans chanted the name of Aboutrika and condemned government attempts to silence political opposition. Many Algerian fans were angry at having to hand over personal information when applying for Fan ID to get a ticket.
During the country’s opening match against Kenya three of them were arrested after a sign was held up saying: ‘They should all resign’. The chairman of an Egyptian league team also attacked the Algerian presenter of the Qatari sports channel, beIN Sports, who were covering the tournament.
He described Hafid Derradji as a terrorist after he visited Aboutrika’s family. Algerian coach Jamel Belmadi came in for criticism after saying of the Mahrez insult: “I need to consult with my eye doctor in France because I didn’t see that.”
The two northern African nations share the same language and religion but there has been intense rivalry between them on and off the pitch in recent years.
By Anthony Harwood
