Scandals follow one another for Algerian sport. After the shameful reception given to the delegation that took part in the Tokyo Paralympic Games and the rant of the national football team coach Djamel Belmadi who denounced the “calamitous state of the lawn of the Mustapha Tchaker stadium in Blida, an athlete steps up to claim the money owed to him.
This is the bodybuilder Fayçal Mihoubi, world champion in the discipline. Speaking on the El Hayat television channel, he said he did not receive his money and that no official cared about his case.
“The knife hit the bone, I knocked on every door. None of the last four ministers (of Youth and Sports, editor’s note) has shown interest in my case, ”he denounces.
” It’s a shame “
The athlete has revealed that he is even thinking of leaving Algeria illegally, to another country where he will be better regarded. “I got to thinking about emigrating illegally (Harga), that’s all I have left. I know that if I go to another country, with my 17 medals, 8 in gold and 9 in silver, the doors will be opened wide for me. I am wronged in Algeria when I hoisted the national flag high,” he regrets.
Fayçal Mihoubi also spoke about what happened at Algiers airport with the Paralympic delegation. The case scandalized Algerians and resulted in two senior officials from the Ministry of Youth and Sports being relieved of their posts.
“Seeing these images, I got goosebumps. It is a great tragedy. How can a bus with steps be made available to disabled people? We saw the young woman who climbed with difficulty with her wheelchair, without the help of anyone,” protests the athlete. For him, what happened during the reception of the Algerian delegation who took part in the Paralympic Games is a “shame” for the whole country.
“The image was seen around the world, it’s a shame for us. I impute the responsibility to the person in charge of their federation who declared that in Algeria there is no suitable bus. They could have brought back a bus with big doors and helped them get on. It’s a shame,” he concludes.
