Dear Mr Blatter, Yes, I am a passionate Egyptian who is committed to the best interest of my home country. Yes, I am very much incensed, to say the least, about the hooliganism exhibited by some Algerian fans, particularly after the game that took place in Sudan on 18 November 2009. However, in writing this plea, I have attempted to take off my national hat and address you as an international lawyer who is keen on preserving the rule of law and fair play. Mr Blatter, as FIFA's Executive Committee will soon be looking into the Egyptian and Algerian case, regarding the latest events, the following need to be raised: - Is there any doubt that the deplorable acts by some Algerian fans, particularly after the game in Sudan, constitute a flagrant violation of Article 67 of FIFA's disciplinary code which clearly penalises spectators' violence towards persons or objects, letting off incendiary devices, uttering insulting words or sounds, etc? As I am sure you know, there are various audiotapes and videotapes documenting the perpetration of all such acts on a wide scale basis by some Algerian hooligans after the Khartoum game. As such, should not article 67 (1) of FIFA's disciplinary code be invoked to ban Algeria from participating in the next World Cup? - How long will FIFA tolerate the repeated infringements by Algerian fans of the established principles of fair play and sportsmanlike behaviour? I am sure that you are aware, as many of us are, of the horrors committed on more than one occasion in the Algerian national soccer league, where fans got killed or injured in large numbers. With those horrors that were committed locally in Algeria, is it any surprise that Algerian violence has now spilled over into the international scene as shown repeatedly in the latest soccer games between Egypt and Algeria in Al-Blaida, Cairo and Khartoum? Shouldn't FIFA in the circumstances apply Article 40 of the disciplinary code that increases the sanctions against any culpable party if an infringement has been repeated? - Whatever happened to the basic principles of fairness and proportionality in meting out appropriate penalties? Does it make any sense to consider penalising Egypt for one alleged event of having a couple of stones thrown at the Algerian team bus before the 14 November game in Cairo and, at the same time, turning a blind eye to a disproportionate vendetta and vigilante campaign expressed by some Algerians in numerous forms, ranging from throwing rocks at the Egyptian team bus in Khartoum on at least two separate occasions, throwing rocks at Egyptian spectators after the Khartoum game, wielding knifes, sticks and other dangerous instruments in the face of many Egyptian fans and then using such weapons to inflict deliberate bodily injury? If these deplorable acts do not warrant implementation of articles 12 and 28 of FIFA's disciplinary code calling for exclusion and expulsion from competitions, then under what circumstances would FIFA plan to apply such sanctions? - Could it be possible for FIFA to forget and forgive the unacceptable acts of the head of the Algerian Football Association who had a role in fanning the flames of bigotry and unsportsmanlike behaviour as a result of his negative public statements, both before and after the game in Khartoum? Will FIFA condone the behaviour of this Algerian official who openly declined to shake the extended hand of his Egyptian counterpart at a press conference in Khartoum, thereby pressing the already raw nerves of many fans? Is not this type of behaviour disallowed by Article 53 of FIFA's disciplinary code that prevents officials from publicly inciting hatred or violence? Doesn't this behaviour warrant the banning of said Algerian official from FIFA- sponsored activities as called for by Article 11 of FIFA's disciplinary code? - Is there any room for hiding behind some issues, including the alleged absence of smoking gun evidence of Algerian violence and the fact that some Egyptian fans did not file official complaints with the Sudanese authorities against the Algerian perpetrators of violence, to escape the imposition of severe penalties on Algeria, including the expulsion of Algeria from the World Cup? Does it really make any sense to expect Egyptian fans, running for their lives and hiding in Sudanese homes in the middle of the night after the game, to go and report their plights to the Sudanese authorities? Wouldn't you think that there is a preponderance of evidence, in the form of video and audio clippings, testimony of eyewitnesses and some medical and security reports, to support the request of banning Algeria? As you know, Article 96 of FIFA's disciplinary code allows any type of proof to be produced and enumerates various types of acceptable evidence. Further, Article 97 allows the issuance of decisions on the basis of personal convictions without raising the threshold of evidence unnecessarily to the standard of "beyond any reasonable doubt" which is only applicable in criminal cases. This flexible approach in terms of the quality of admissible evidence, in addition to Article 51 of the code that penalises national sports associations for violence committed by individuals belonging to them, even if aggressors cannot be identified personally, makes the expulsion of Algeria an inescapable conclusion. Mr Blatter, I have asked so many questions and there are even more crying out for a fair and equitable response. These questions raise various ethical and legal issues that point in one direction only: the expulsion of Algeria from South Africa 2010. To answer the above questions otherwise would send the wrong message to the whole world. It would leave people wondering what happened to the rules of fair play, sportsmanlike behaviour and strict implementation of FIFA's disciplinary code. Mr Blatter, the world has to hear FIFA's message loud and clear. There is no room for hooliganism; there is no space for spectator violence aimed at terrifying the opponents and their fans; there is zero tolerance for support by authorities for hoodlums. Yes, Mr Blatter, there is only one good answer to all of the above: to ban Algeria from the 2010 World Cup as it does not belong to this civilised event that symbolises the values of tolerance, fair competition and sportsmanlike behaviour. Mr Blatter, I will be waiting, with 80 million Egyptians and other millions in the world, for FIFA's fair verdict that I hope will vindicate all the positive values long espoused by FIFA. Ahmed Moataz Barakat International lawyer
