CAIRO: Manual Jose, the Portuguese coach of Egyptian and African champions Al Ahly, apologized on Sunday for starting to undress in public in protest against a referee s decision.
Jose took off his jacket and started to unbutton his shirt after referee Nasser Abbas booked Ahly s Tunisian midfielder Anis Boujelbene during the team s 4-0 win over Haras el-Hodoud on Friday.
The referee expelled Jose after the incident, which sparked a hostile media campaign against the 60-year-old coach.
After analyzing my reaction…I found out that it was inappropriate and I apologize to all fans in general and to Ahly’s fans in particular, a statement on the club s Web site quoted Jose as saying. I forgot at that moment that I was in a country whose traditions are a little bit different than my country.
