Africa

Egypt Demand Apologies From South African Newspaper Over Prostitutes' Story

A top Egypt official has said the team may be forced to drag a South African newspaper to court if they fail to tender an apology over a story that suggested that some of players invited prostitutes into the hotel, resulting in the theft of their wallets...

Jun 22, 2009 6:08:38 PM

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Head of Egypt's delegation to the FIFA Confederations Cup, Mahmoud Taher, has asked for a full apology from South African newspaper, The Sunday World, for triggering what he termed as "baseless accusations" against the Egyptian players.

Egypt skipper Ahmed Hassan reported the theft of some wallets from his team-mates' hotel rooms on Friday, only hours after the Pharaohs' historic 1-0 win over Italy in the Confederations Cup.

Subsequently, some local papers, including The Sunday World, reported that the Egyptians spent the night with hookers at the hotel, suggesting that they stole the players' personal possessions before leaving.

"The newspaper that published this allegation and the South African police both owe us apologies," Taher told FilGoal.com.

"If they don't apologise, we will sue Sunday World for libel and also take legal actions against the police department.

"We didn't want to make a big deal out of what happened, we didn't even report the burglary to the police and just informed the organising committee of it.

"Taking anyone to court is actually our last resort."

Egypt star player, Mohamed Aboutrika, has threatened to quit the national team if no action is taken against an Egyptian television presenter who described the players as "dirty" following the prostitutes' story.

Samm Audu, Goal.com