Egypt's preparations for Friday night's World Cup last-32 clash with Australia were overshadowed by an ugly incident with police at the team's Dallas hotel. As the Egyptians arrived at their hotel on Thursday, they were greeted by a crowd of fans, some of them young children, who then asked for autographs and pictures. But the situation soon took an ugly turn.
Video Shows Confrontation
A video that has since gone viral on social media showed former Aston Villa striker Trezeguet posing for a selfie with a young fan, at which point team director Ibrahim Hassan walks over to join him. However, a police officer then appears to intervene and seemingly shoves Hassan before another member of staff comes across. The moment sparks a melee as players and members of staff can be seen grappling with police, with the officer at the heart of it all appearing to repeatedly shout: “BACK OFF!” Hassan also appears to be shouting "F*** you." The incident lasted for around 30 seconds before being defused.
Egyptian Football Association Statement
The Egyptian Football Association have since issued a statement in response to the incident via news outlet Voice of Emirates. "The incident began when an Egyptian child was pushed by a member of security while trying to take a souvenir photo with the national team players," the outlet wrote. The statement added that "Ibrahim Hassan immediately intervened to protect the child and prevent him from coming to any harm. This led to a brief verbal altercation with the security guard, before the situation was quickly resolved without any escalation." The federation also insisted preparations for the clash with Australia were proceeding as planned.
Match Implications
Egypt are bidding to reach the last 16 for only the second time in their entire history on Friday night.
