The consensus among football pundits in Egypt often suggests that our 'uncivilized' fans should learn from their 'civilized' counterparts in Europe. But the notion does not seem to be appropriate, and to be honest, the contrary can hardly be considered as well, with a section of each party having much to be ashamed of. In Egypt, a footballer could withstand a rainstorm of insults during a game, just because he wears the shirt of the opposing team. In the same manner, a European footballer will be booed by the fans of his former club as long he is playing the game, just because he left the club for a rival team. However, the calamity occurs when home fans direct their unjustified rage towards a player representing their own country in an international match! Meteb, Cole and Kuranyi…Who is next? Egyptian-style boo-boys have zero tolerance for any national team player struggling with form, regardless of how the team is performing. It happened with Emad Meteb in March 2007 when the Pharaohs were 3-0 up against Mauritania at home, but the then-misfiring Meteb received his fair share of insults by home fans.
Egyptian-style boo-boys have zero tolerance for any national team player struggling with form, regardless of how the team is performing. Egypt's number one Essam Al-Hadari has also been slammed by public foul-language on two occasions with the national team. On the other hand, I was shocked by England fans' inexplicable behavior against Ashley Cole in the 5-1 win over Kazakhstan, even though the Three Lions were almost guaranteed a victory. From the boo-boys' perspective, if Cole had to be punished for making a technical mistake, then Paul Robinson or Scott Carson should be sent into exile! Yet this can never be a solution. On the same matchday, Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi declared he was forced to walk out of the team's 2-1 win over Russia in Dortmund, because he feared to be treated as a 'Schalke player' rather than a national team member. "It is difficult enough as a Schalke player to sit in the stands in Dortmund. Nobody can see what is going on in my body, in my mind and know how bad the situation is," Kuranyi said after his infamous walk-out, which caused him dismissal from the Mannschaft. How shameful could this be, especially when it emanates from the supporters of one of the most civilized nations in the world? There is no doubt that a considerable portion of true football fans, inside or outside Egyptian stadiums, are innocent from offensive chants, and without their presence in the stands, the passion for the game would fade.
