Sudan to host possible Egypt-Algeria playoff: FIFADUBAI: Algeria's team bus was attacked by stone-throwing fans in Cairo on Thursday ahead of Saturday's highly-charged World Cup qualifier against Egypt, police officials said.
The incident, which happened as the Algerian squad was being taken from the airport to their hotel, immediately sparked a diplomatic war of words.
Egyptian police insisted that there were no injuries, but Algeria's foreign minister said several players had been hurt and demanded security be tightened for Saturday's game where a place at the 2010 World Cup finals is at stake.
In Algiers, foreign minister Mourad Medelci "strongly condemned" the attack which he described as serious and demanded that his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit take all measures to guarantee the security of the delegation.
Medelci said that "several" players had been hurt.
An Egyptian police official denied that Algerian team members were hurt.
The official said security troops overpowered local fans who tried to throw stones at the arriving members of the Algerian squad. Emotional Egyptian fans waited for the Algerians outside the airport but police managed to prevent them from hurling stones, the official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
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