Egypt coach Hassan Shehata said he sarcastically applauded Algeria defender Rafik Halliche because he accused his side of bribing the referee in their African Cup of Nations clash. The Pharaohs avenged their World Cup loss to Algeria with an emphatic 4-0 victory over their North African rivals in the Nations Cup semi final before going on to clinch the title at the expense of Ghana. Algeria hit out at Beninese referee Coffi Codjia for sending off three of their players. Shehata was photographed while applauding Halliche, the first Algerian player to receive a red card, when he left the pitch. "Halliche told me that we paid money to the referee to rule in our favor," the highly-respected manager said in an interview with Dream TV on Saturday. "My reply was a very calm one, I applauded him." The diplomatic ties between the two countries were strained after some unfortunate incidents marred their World Cup clashes in November last year. Shehata admitted that he wished Egypt had avoided facing Algeria due to the heated atmosphere of their matches. "I never hoped to play against them in the Nations Cup. On the footballing level, I was sure we were the better team but I was worried that the past off-pitch incidents could resurface," he added. "After beating Cameroon (in the quarter finals), I took my players and went to relax on the beach to approach the Algeria game in a calm state of mind."
