Rabat – The pulsating and edgy Arab Cup quarter-final game between Algeria and Morocco was full of scenes of fair-play and sportsmanship despite the heavy political background. But television viewers were offered a different spectacle by the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup Council as sports commentators from the Gulf and North Africa discussed Algeria’s 2-0 victory over Tunisia in the final of the tournament.
Verbal altercations broke out during the Council after Algerian sports analyst Hakim Sbaa ignored Moroccan sports analyst Oussama Benabdellah when distributing gifts from the Algerian Football Federation to the attendees.
Shortly after Algeria lifted the Arab Cup following its win against Tunisia, Hakim Sbaa distributed the official Algerian football jerseys with customized names to three representatives from Gulf countries, excluding North African guests.
The move infuriated the Omani representative, Ahmad Al Rawas, who expressed his disappointment over what he called an unjustified act. Although Al Rawas was one of the few guests to have been gifted the customized jerseys, he noted that it is not ethical to give gifts to half of the guests and leave others empty-handed.
“The shirts should be distributed to all existing analysts and not just three,” said the Omani commentator.
Echoing Al Rawas’s sentiment, other attendees described the Algerian commentator’s move as an “inappropriate behavior that does not reflect the generosity of the Arabs.”
Benabdallah also expressed his displeasure with Sbaa’s behavior, stressing that if the Moroccan Football Federation had asked him to give gifts “with exceptions” he would have refused and rather insisted on gifting Algerians first.
Another Gulf journalist tried to remedy the situation by offering Benabdallah the jersey he had been given.
After incurring such criticism and disapproval, Hakim Sbaa found himself in an even more uncomfortable position when he tried to justify his conduct by arguing that he was simply “in charge of carrying out orders from the Algerian Football Federation.”
The video was widely shared on social media platforms and netizens expressed outrage over the hostile behavior toward Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, commenting that the Algerian officials lack sportsmanship.
Algerian netizens who commented on the issue agreed that such behavior does not reflect their true values.
“Al Rawas is right. I am Algerian and [Al Rawas] words are not harsh, [but] a regular note he said in a spontaneous way. What Hakim did was misplaced and he should apologize,” one netizen commented.
Despite the heated discussion the commentators had on live TV, Al Rawas refused to apologize, insisting that he had only pointed out facts and nobody should feel attacked or offended.
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