Algerian FA president Mohamed Raouraoua refused to shake his Egyptian counterpart Samir Zaher's hand during a meeting that was held by Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir to bring about a reconciliation between the Egyptian and Algerian delegations. The Pharaohs beat the Desert Foxes 2-0 to set up a playoff game on Wednesday in Sudan, and the build-up to the anticipated match has been extremely intense. It was reported that Algeria's bus at Cairo Airport was viciously attacked by Egyptian hooligans on Thursday, and several Algerian players were injured as a result. After Algeria lost on Saturday, baseless rumors were spread about severe fan clashes that saw a number of the visitors' supporters killed. Although these allegations were repeatedly played down, football fanatics in Algeria viciously attacked Egyptian residents in retaliation for the alleged assault on their compatriots. In an attempt to ease the tension, Al-Bashir brought Raouraoua and Zaher together in a meeting, but the Algerian official added more fuel to fire.
Raouraoua "A meeting was held to cool down the tension," Zaher told Al-Hayat TV. "After Al-Bashir's word, (National Sports Council chief) Hassan Sakr stressed on the importance of the meeting's purpose, referring in a reasonable way to the strong bonds between Algeria and Egypt. "Later on, I echoed Sakr's sentiments, and tried to show my good intention by shaking Raouraoua's hand, but to my utter astonishment he stood up and walked away. "What he did simply made the situation much worse, but that won't distract our players ahead of the game." The eagerly-awaited decider is to take place at Merreikh Stadium.
