It's fair to describe Algeria's World Cup campaign as a complete and utter failure, with Rafik Saifi's appalling assault on a female journalist the worst possible closure. Two 1-0 losses to Slovenia and USA as well as a goalless draw with England caused Algeria to embarrassingly bow out of the group stage without scoring a single goal. The Desert Foxes weren't really tipped to raise eye-brows in FIFA's primary competition. Their ultra-defensive playing style is anything but enjoyable and their capabilities are by far inadequate. But what was really staggering is the moral degeneration of the only Arab representatives at the World Cup. In the gigantic competition's qualifiers and the 2010 African Cup of Nations, the Algerian players' out-of-place violence during open play and heated protests against referees drew a wave of criticism against them. Their aggressive attitude remained the same over their three World Cup matches, where they received two red cards, before Saifi, the oldest player in the Algerian squad, tarnished his team's image even more.
Saifi represents Algeria as their most experienced veteran, but instead of setting a good example for his younger teammates he showed how nasty he can get. Following his side's defeat by USA, the 35-year-old headed towards Asma Halimi in the interview zone and slapped her across the face without saying a word, before she hit him back. It's widely believed that Saifi beat Algerian columnist Halimi because he was enraged by an opinion article she wrote about him. The FC Istres forward represents Algeria as their most experienced veteran, but instead of setting a good example for his younger teammates he showed how nasty he can get. Saifi hit a woman only because she criticized him as part of her job. I wonder what he would have done to a male critic! He basically gave the whole world the impression that the Algerian players are not only belligerent on the pitch, but off it as well. So now, what Algeria will be remembered for? Their dull displays and immorality.
