The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Sept. 10 Algerian Ambassador Abdelkader Benchaa over the chants glorifying former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during an Arab Club Champions Cup match between Iraq’s Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya soccer club and the Algerian club USM Alger.
About 15 minutes before the end, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, which had conceded two goals at this point, withdrew from the match, which took place in the Algerian capital Algiers. The Iraqi team justified its decision to withdraw because of the chants by the Algerian fans glorifying Saddam and hailing the Islamic State (IS), according to the head of Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya’s fan association known as "Abu Burier."
Responding to the incident, Turki al-Sheikh, president of the Union of Arab Football Associations, spoke of potentially imposing fines on both teams up to $2.5 million, but he said Sept. 13 in statements to the press that he “refuses to overemphasize what occurred in that match.” He also refused to “make the association that this tournament is a source of trouble,” adding that “each tournament has regulations and laws that shall be enforced on all.”
The crisis imploded further as some claimed that the chants hailed IS and attacked the Shiites, in addition to glorifying Saddam. This caused an outcry among Iraqis who called on the Iraqi state to take action rather than only releasing statements of condemnation.
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