Angry football fans clash with police in Cairo (2nd Lead)

Nov 20, 2009, 0:24 GMT

Cairo - Thousands of people gathered in the streets around the Algerian embassy in Cairo just after midnight Friday, as football fans clashed with police and destroyed property.

Several main arteries of the exclusive island neighbourhood of Zamalek, where the embassy is located, had been taken over by the crowds, and shop windows were smashed by fans throwing stones and fireworks.

The protesters, many shouting obscenities directed at Algeria, clashed at intersections with riot police who pushed them back.

The crowds were gathering after altercations in the previous weeks between Algerian and Egyptian fans over a World Cup qualifier and final, played in Egypt and Sudan on Saturday and Wednesday nights, respectively.

Much smaller crowds gathered near the Algerian embassy after Egyptian media reported that Algerian fans attacked Egyptian fans in Sudan following Algeria's 1-0 victory Wednesday night to reach the World Cup next year in South Africa.

Egypt recalled its ambassador from Algiers for consultations on Thursday, citing the attacks.

Prior to the game, Egypt's Orascome Telecom saw its offices in Algeria destroyed, and the company was hit with nearly 600 million dollars in tax penalties from the government in Algiers.

The first of the match-ups in the last week took place following what the Algerian team alleged was a stoning of its bus in Cairo, leaving several players injured. Egypt won that game, setting up the playoff, which took place in Sudan under tight security.