The clash of Egypt and Algeria in the World Cup qualifiers appears to prove that football is indeed war minus the shooting, regardless of the sides or ties involved, writes Abdel-Moneim Said From primary school through university we regularly used to stage demonstrations, sometimes in support of Palestine and at other times in support of Algeria or other Arab or African countries. Our demonstrations were often prompted by dramatic events, such as a massacre in southern Yemen or the assassination of a leader such as Lumumba in the Congo. As the years passed, Algeria and the Congo won their liberation and no longer needed the support of their activist brothers, even after those countries had gone through their various forms of internecine fighting. The situation with Palestine was somewhat different -- abbreviated you could say -- as it went directly to the internal political and military power struggle without passing through the liberation and statehood phase first. Still, one is not sorry when looking at the past. Arab countries and peoples stood together in some form or other in the face of foreign occupation and the Israeli occupation in particular. That legacy, which was grounded in the special type of bond between Arab countries, inspired the ambition on the part of some political groups to espouse a project for Arab unification. That was the dream; reality was another matter. As the generation that fought the collective battle for liberation was succeeded by the generation that brought failed development, the political spirit of Arab leaders and peoples grew increasingly frustrated by the enormous gap between expectations and reality. The upshot was that friction gained the upper hand in inter- Arab relations, with propaganda as the predominant weapon with which Arab countries managed their conflicts with one another. This phenomenon has always carried with it the risk of inter-Arab conflicts spreading outward from official circles to the popular level, as was so amply demonstrated in the Egyptian-Algerian crisis surrounding their contest to reach the World Cup football finals in South Africa in 2010. The Algerian minister of information expressed a noble sentiment when he said, "I only wish that the Egyptian and Algerian teams could either succeed together or fail together so that the devils of hatred would not have a chance to drive wedges between these two brother peoples." But one could say with equal nobility that whichever team wins, the Arabs will be represented in the World Cup finals. Unfortunately, the only winner in the recent match was "football fanaticism". This is a beast of a different order and no one had taken it into account and there were no attempts whatsoever to deal with it. One account of the "Egyptian-Algerian case" holds that the very commonalties that bind Arab countries together and form a basis for their solidarity are what fire the desire of each Arab society to distinguish itself and differ from the others. This drive, the argument continues, assumes an antagonistic character in times of competition. Be that as it may, all attempts on the part of Egyptian and Arab political, athletic and cultural institutions and personalities could not restore calm between the Egyptian and Algerian sides. The initiative by Al-Masry Al-Yom daily to present "a flower to each Algerian player", the visit by a media team from Al-Hayat Television to Algeria to campaign against fanaticism, the statement issued by a group of Algerian intellectuals and the joint concert given by famous Egyptian and Algerian singers, Mohamed Mounir and Cheb Khaled, to generate a climate of cultural unity through music failed to achieve their ends, as did all appeals against fanaticism and bigotry and for reconciliation posted on the Internet. The irony is that athletic competitions, especially such sporting events as football matches, are generally regarded as venues for rapprochement and creating friendships, not as arenas for battle and hostility. A famous example in international affairs is the ping-pong diplomacy that helped smooth relations between Washington and Beijing in the 1970s. A contrary rule seems to apply to the Arab case. Political disputes are mirrored in athletic relations, to which testify numerous examples. In the 1978 African Cup playoffs in Algeria, a match between Egypt and Libya was cancelled because of a brawl that broke out between the teams. The Algerian security forces intervened, but only to lash out at the Egyptian players, which prompted then prime minister Mamdouh Salem to withdraw the Egyptian team from the series. Nor was 2009 the first time violence broke out between Egypt and Algeria. In the World Cup eliminations in 2001, Algerian spectators attacked the Egyptian team in the Annaba Stadium. The excesses of football fanaticism, as played out at the grassroots level of Egyptian-Algerian relations, have gone so far as to strike at the heart of family stability. In many Egyptian and other Arab newspapers it was reported that an Egyptian woman had to be separated from her husband before the match in Cairo because of the violent arguments they had over their predictions on the outcome. Another story relates that an official in the downtown Algiers marriage bureau refused to register the marital contract between an Algerian woman and her Egyptian husband until after the outcome of the match was announced. Football violence and vandalism erupted in many ways and places before, during and after the match. Buses transporting the teams were pelted with stones hurled by football hooligans from both sides. Brawls broke out between fans of the rival teams following the matches leading to numerous casualties, although there are no available figures on the actual number of wounded. Supporters of the Algerian team engaged in various forms of physical and verbal violence as they left Cairo airport, compelling four Egyptian passengers who were scheduled to leave on the same flight to Algeria to cancel their trips. In Algeria, football related violence targeted Egyptian property and economic interests when vandals trashed and severely damaged the EgyptAir offices and some Egyptian communications and contracting firms in Algiers. The vandalism is certain to have a detrimental effect on the flow of Egyptian investment in Algeria, which currently stands at $6.2 billion and was expected to increase to $8 billion next year. Egypt is the largest Arab investor in Algeria, where it is particularly active in the fields of construction, communications, some manufactures, agriculture and service industries. In addition, the violence struck many of the approximately 15,000 Egyptian workers in Algeria. In the departments of Algiers, Djelfa, Oran and Annaba, Algerian mobs besieged Egyptians in their homes, subjecting them to severe emotional and psychological strain. To some extent, the Egyptian-Algerian crisis reflects the notion that football is a peaceful extension of wars between nations. The idea was expressed by George Orwell: "Football is not only played for the fun of kicking the ball but because it is a form of combat." The fact is that the sports media contributed to "militarising" the recent match. Take, for example, the belligerent language of some headlines: "Declaration of war on Egypt", "Algiers and the massacre of Cairo", and "When Tel Aviv is more merciful than Cairo". In addition to this language, which infested many of the headlines of such Algerian newspapers as Al-Khabar, Akhbar Al-Yom and Al-Shorouq, the media spread false information and fabricated images, such as that of an Algerian citizen bleeding to death, although there is evidence that this same picture reappeared several times to illustrate the ravages of terrorism in Algeria. Egyptian-Algerian relations are historical. This is not romanticised history but plain fact. Egypt was the victim of the tripartite invasion of 1956 because the Nasserist regime offered continuous financial and material support to the Algerian revolution until it obtained its liberation from France in 1962. Indeed, the first declaration of the Algerian revolution was broadcast from the Egyptian Sot Al-Arab radio station. And the Algerians reciprocated in kind, backing Egypt with arms and other material support during the October 1973 War. At the cultural level, we find the contributions of "soft" resources to match the "hard" resources. A prime example is to be found in the Algerian national anthem, written by the Algerian poet Mufdi Zakaria and put to music by Egyptian composer Mohamed Fawzi. Not as illustrious, perhaps, but definitely of more far-reaching effect is the contribution that Egyptian teachers made to the revival of Arabic and Arabic language instruction in Algeria, which had long been banned under French colonial occupation. Sadly, however, all the foregoing belongs to the past and the signs are that the political and economic ties of the present do not amount to much. Perhaps the problem is that we expect too much from countries and peoples who still have such a long way to go to maturity. Or could it be that the whole thing is not more than the trials and tribulations of football?
