The round of 32 tie was marred by a 93rd pitch invasion from the home fans, who went down to pour their rage on match referee Mohamed Bichari and some of the visiting players.

The Tunisians were fortunate to come out with almost no casualties, but were offered help from the home-team players.

“Thank God that all our staff and players are OK. There were just some minor injuries,” Yacoubi said.

“I have to mention the great spirit shown by Zamalek players during the events. They apologized to us even though they had no hand in such a disaster.”

Thanks

Similarly, midfielder Wissem Ben Yahia reflected the support of his opposition during the awkward situation.

“The players of Zamalek, in particular Ahmed Gaafar and Hani Saied, stood by our team and didn’t abandon us during the incident,” he said.

“We all thank them for showing such a spirit and of course we accept the apologies from Egypt. The Egyptian and Tunisian people are brothers.”