Algerian forward Youcef Belaili issued an apology to referee Ghada Mahat for his behavior during the match between Mouloudia of Algiers and Widad de Tlemcen in the quarter-finals of the Algerian Football Cup. Belaili caused a significant stir in Algeria in recent days when a video emerged of him verbally clashing with referee Mahat, during which he grabbed her arm in an attempt to prevent her from showing him a yellow card.
To move past the incident, the international Algerian player posted a statement on his Instagram account, apologizing to the referee. He wrote: "Dear referee Ghada Mahat, I would like to sincerely apologize for my behavior during the last match. I know that I succumbed to the pressure and expressed my frustration inappropriately towards you."
He added, expressing regret: "I realize this was unfair from me and I deeply regret my actions. I recognize that you were doing your utmost to officiate the match fairly and impartially, and I assure you that my reaction was not directed at you personally. I understand that you have a difficult role to fulfill and I respect your commitment to the sport."
He concluded: "I would like to sincerely apologize to you for my inappropriate behavior and hope you will accept my apology. I am committed to working on managing stress and pressure to prevent this from happening again in the future. Again, I am sorry for my actions and thank you for your understanding."
