CAIRO - Apparently worried that tensions between Egypt and Algeria will be rekindled, Egyptian officials are at pains to smooth out recent strains triggered by an attack on Al-Ahly in Algeria earlier this month. For his part, Chairman of Egypt's Al-Ahly Hassan Hamdi has pledged a good reception for the Algerian club JS Kabylie in Cairo, saying that he will personally welcome the JS Kabylie team upon their arrival in Cairo Wednesday. "There is close co-ordination between Al-Ahly and all parties concerned, including the security agencies, to create a conducive atmosphere for the match between Al-Ahly and JS Kabylie on August 29," Hamdi told a press conference on Sunday in Cairo. The Algerians defeated Al-Ahly 1-0 on August 15. It was the first loss for the Egyptian club on Algerian soil since 1988. Algeria and Egypt had their worst political crisis last November during the World Cup qualifiers when fans in Cairo attacked a bus carrying the national Algerian team. Hamdi appealed to the Red Devils' fans especially, and to Egyptian fans in general, to give Algeria's JS Kabylie a good reception in Cairo as “brothers in their second home, to reflect good relationship between the two Arab countries. "I have confidence in our fans, as I know they will not do anything that would harm the team," he said. However, he noted that his club will go ahead with a complaint against the Algerian team with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), in regard to what he called an isolated incident, referring to the attack on Al-Ahly bus in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria, last week. "The individual accident we were subjected to should not influence our acts. We have already reacted by calling CAF to preserve our rights." During their away game against JS Kabylie, Al-Ahly players challenged the referee, shoving him and causing the game to be halted for more than ten minutes in protest against disallowing a gool scored by one of them. The referee showed the red card to Egyptian captain Hossam Ghali, and his teammates had difficulty containing themselves until the end of the game. The unbeaten Kabylians top Group B with nine points, while Al-Ahly are second with four points. Egypt and Algeria have a history of clashes during football matches between the two countries.
