Moroccan Referee Escapes Attack by Tunisian Fans After Controversial Champions League Match in Cairo

Moroccan referee Redouane Jiyed, who officiated the match between Zamalek of Cairo and Espérance de Tunis for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, which ended 3-1, was chased by supporters of the Tunisian club in the streets of Cairo. At the end of the match, reports the daily Al Akhbar, he narrowly escaped an attempted assault in the streets of Cairo.

The story could have turned badly if the Moroccan international referee had not been protected by Egyptian citizens who were on the scene of the attempted assault, the newspaper adds, noting that police then intervened to protect Redouane Jiyed. The latter was also under pressure throughout the match he officiated, as he was constantly the subject of violent protests from the players and staff of EST.

Redouane Jiyed even expelled the Algerian player of Espérance, Mohamed Ben Ali Ben Ramdane, by a red card, for pushing the referee to protest against the goal scored by the former Wydad striker, Achraf Bencharki.