The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) decided on Monday to suspend its participation in Arab Futsal activities indefinitely in response to the brutal assault launched on Egyptian players by Libyans in the Arab Cup last week. Libyan security forces clubbed the Egyptian team players during the interval of the final game against the hosts, leaving several players in critical condition. Egypt star Ahmed Shaaban sustained a serious head injury that is thought to have given him a concussion and he had to return home in a wheelchair. The Tunisian referee turned a blind eye to the assaults and decided that the Egyptian team have abandoned the game, awarding the game and, as a result, the title to Libya.
The FA said in a statement that their decision was reached after an emergency meeting during which they discussed the reports submitted by the head of the Egyptian delegation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It has also been taken into consideration, according to the statement, that this wasn't the first violent approach by the Libyans towards Egyptian teams. Libyan players and officials backed by local police forces attacked Zamalek players during their game with Ittihad in the Arab Champions League last November. Earlier in 2006, Libyan fans destroyed complete sections of the then revamped Cairo International Stadium after their national team lost 3-0 to Egypt in the opener of the African Cup of Nations.
