A confrontation captured on video Thursday between a Dallas police officer and men associated with Egypt’s national soccer team began with a call for assistance from the hotel’s security, police said.
The footage showing an officer pushing and putting his finger in the chest of a man wearing a team Egypt shirt had spread widely online by Friday, when Egypt was scheduled to face Australia in a World Cup match at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The episode lasts less than a minute and shows tempers flare on both sides before older men apparently with the Egyptian team intervene and ask the officer to “please calm down.”
One Dallas City Council member characterized the officer’s actions as overly aggressive and apologized to the team. Police said they were called for a credentialing issue that was later resolved but did not directly address the fracas in a statement or in response to follow-up questions.
The video shows Dallas officers approaching a crowd in the lobby of the Westin Dallas Downtown as a young fan posed for a photo with a player international media identified as Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim Hassan, commonly known as Trezeguet. Other men in the crowd are wearing shirts with “EGYPT” printed on the back.
One officer tells a man in the crowd to “back off, back off, back off” as the two appear to push against each other. The encounter escalates, with more shouting and pushing as another officer and several men move into the group.
Allison Hudson, a police spokesperson, said officers responded to the Westin at 11:50 a.m. after hotel security called regarding an “individual without event credentials who was attempting to gain access.”
Officers learned that “the individuals weren’t displaying credentials properly, which is a requirement,” Hudson said.
A message to the Egyptian Football Association seeking comment was not immediately returned Friday.
A Dallas police deputy chief met with team representatives to address their concerns, and the matter was resolved, Hudson said.
Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua shared a video of the interaction online, apologizing to Egypt and saying “we are better than this.”
“Nothing says welcome to Dallas like an overly aggressive cop with an ego trip ruining a genuinely wholesome moment,” Bazaldua said. ”I hope this is as embarrassing to our chief as it is to me.”