An Egyptian referee was head-butted by fans, officials and players after he failed to rule a match winning goal “offside.”
Referee Ibrahim Nour El-Din was attacked by the Al Faisaly faithful who had lost 3-2 to Tunisia’s Esperance after extra-time.
Esperance’s 102nd-minute sparked outrage from the fans who claimed he should have ruled it offside.
Despite taking all the blame, Ibrahim Nour El-Din felt he did the right decision.
“I decided not to cancel the match because it would not be good for Egypt,” Ibrahim Nour El Din is quoted by BBC Sport after the game.
“One of Al Faisaly’s officials came to me and said sorry after his players attacked me, but then suddenly he also beat me.
“I accepted the insults from Al Faisaly because this tournament was on Egyptian soil and I did not want to fail – especially because it was the final,” he added.
Egyptian police arrested 38 people during the chaos but all were later freed.
