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Video showing an altercation involving Dallas police near the Egyptian soccer team began widely circulating on Friday morning, as media outlets from all over the world continued to share the clip to their social media accounts. The Egyptian men’s soccer team is in North Texas to play Australia in Friday’s round of 32 World Cup match at AT&T Stadium.
In the video clip shared by Al Jazeera English to its 9.4 million Instagram followers, a Dallas police officer can be seen approaching the roped-off area inside the lobby of One Main Place on Main Street in Dallas, where the Westin Hotel is located. As a young fan was taking a picture with a member of the Egypt national soccer team, the officer can be seen addressing a man in a black T-shirt with “EGYPT” on the back, as the conversation quickly turned heated.
The Dallas officer and the man, who has been identified in reports as Egypt’s team director Ibrahim Hassan, the brother of Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan, began arguing face-to-face, with the officer shouting “Back off! Back off!” as he appeared to shove the man backwards. (In the video, a clear view of the officer’s arms are blocked by another person standing near the player and fan taking the photo).
Hassan can be heard saying “No pushing, no pushing” to the officer as the physical altercation grew more intense and another officer near them began physically separating other people from the scene. At that point, about midway through the 55-second clip, Hassan can be seen confronting the officer by leaning in close to him, but his words are inaudible.
Toward the end of the clip, tensions are calming as the crowd thins out, and what appears to be other members of the Egyptian contingent can be seen speaking to the officer, with one man putting his arms around the officer. The British tabloid The Sun is one of many international outlets that have already posted the video with some details as the clip has hit Reddit, Instagram, X and TikTok.
Police say that they were called to the property by hotel security.
“We are aware of the video circulating on social media,” a DPD spokesperson told the Observer in a statement on Friday morning. “[Yesterday] afternoon, the Dallas Police Department responded to the Westin at the request of hotel security regarding an individual without event credentials attempting to gain access. The situation was resolved on scene, and DPD met with representatives of the team to address their concerns. The matter has since been resolved.”
The spokesperson declined to answer if Hassan was the person who hotel staff claimed was without credentials. They also declined to say if the officer’s actions were in compliance with department policy.
