Mubarak's son weighs in on Egypt-Algeria dispute

The play-off came after Egypt defeated Algeria by two goals in Cairo on Saturday.

President Hosni Mubarak's elder son Alaa has weighed into the bitter football dispute between Cairo and Algiers after Algerian fans attacked Egyptians in Sudan, calling the incidents "terrorism."

Alaa Mubarak, who attended Wednesday's match in Khartoum with his brother Gamal, added Egypt should complain to world football governing body FIFA over what he said was intimidation of its team, state news agency MENA reported on Friday.

The Egyptian team faced "terrorism and self pressure before, during and after the match," he said, branding the Algerian fans "mercenaries." MENA said Mubarak made the comments on a television sports programme on Thursday.

Egyptian fans said buses carrying them to Khartoum airport after the match were stoned by Algerians, whose team won 1-0 to qualify for next year's World Cup finals.

The play-off came after Egypt defeated Algeria by two goals in Cairo on Saturday.

Before the Cairo match, the Algerian team's bus was stoned by Egyptian fans, injuring three players, and buses full of away fans were stoned afterwards.

In Algeria itself, angry crowds attacking Egyptian homes and businesses, prompting Egypt's Orascom Telecom to pull its workers out of the country.

Alaa questioned a proposal by some Egyptians before the match in Cairo to greet each Algerian player with a flower, saying - We have to wake up, because they have nothing to hold against us. How long will we coddle them for? -

- There appears to be something strange in the composition of Algeria -- it has spite and malice towards Egypt - he said, adding Egypt never had problems over football with other Arab states.

The attacks against Egyptian fans in Khartoum enraged protesters in Cairo, who clashed with police early on Friday outside the Algerian embassy there.

The interior ministry said 35 people, including 11 police officers, were injured in the clashes.