Nigeria Professional Football League side, Rivers United, alleged they had received death threats from fans of Egyptian’s Al Masry ahead of their CAF Confederation Cup game on Sunday.
United made this accusation in a statement posted on the club’s Twitter handle on Wednesday.
Al Masry suffered a 2-1 defeat to Rivers United at the Enyimba International Stadium in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup play-offs.
Following the defeat, the Vice president of the Egyptian club Mohamed El-Kholy complained about the treatment from their hosts and revealed they would be filing a complaint against the Nigerian side for the poor treatment they received during their stay in Nigeria.
Ahead of the return leg scheduled for Sunday, Rivers United revealed in statement that they have received death threats adding that some of the club’s delegations were denied visas in an attempt to destabilise the team before the encounter.
“Egyptian Embassy denies Rivers United visas, as Al Masry continue threats,” the tweet reads.
“In what is fast unfolding as yet another ugly chapter in African football as Rivers United has decried the antics of Egyptian side Al Masry ahead of this weekend’s CAF TotalEnergies play-off return leg clash in Alexandria.
“The Pride of Rivers raced to a 2-1 victory in the first leg at the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba and know a draw or victory will be good enough to progress into the group phase of the competition.
“Ahead of this weekend’s encounter, Rivers United has uncovered plots by Al Masry to unsettle the team, speaking on the progress of preparation, Media Officer of Rivers United, Charles Mayuku, revealed that some members of Rivers United contingent for the tie have been denied entry visa into Egypt by the Egyptian Embassy, including two journalists.
“In addition, Al Masry football club in various official social media posts and their corresponding fans’ comments have threatened to hurt members of Rivers United during their visit. Threat statements like “we will kill you,” “welcome to hell,” and photos of knives, machetes, and flares dominated comments below Al Masry’s official post
“To rub salt to wound, Rivers United has also gotten wind that Covid19 test manipulations will also be employed to further weaken the resolve of the team.
“To this effect, Rivers United has drawn the attention of Africa’s football governing body, CAF in writing, through the Nigeria Football Federation, as well the Foreign Affairs Commission and the Nigerian Embassy in Egypt to this unsavoury and barbaric scheme.
“The team remains focused and are set to jet out of Nigeria on Thursday for Sunday’s action which is billed to kick off at 5pm Nigerian time.”
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
