Maaloul's celebration of the goal he scored from a penalty kick in the 21st minute against Al-Ittihad sparked angry reactions from some fans of the Saudi club, after the Tunisian player ran towards them, placing his hands over his ears, in a way that some saw as provocative.
In an interview with a sports program on the Saudi channel, Maaloul explained that he did not intend to provoke the Al-Ittihad fans, stressing that he always celebrates this way after scoring goals.
Maaloul added: “I apologize if any misunderstanding occurred. There was no ill will on my part, and I did not mean to provoke them.”
Al-Ahly reached the semi-finals of the Club World Cup on Friday after defeating Al-Ittihad 3-1 in the second round at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, amid a crowd of 56,000 fans.
Al-Ahly took revenge for its loss to Al-Ittihad in the quarter-finals of the same competition in 2005 in Japan, when Al-Ittihad won 1-0 with a late goal by its star Mohamed Nour.
This is Al-Ahly's first victory over Al-Ittihad to finally break its knot after the latter defeated it in the 1995 Arab Elite Championship with a score of 2-1 and in the 2001 Egyptian-Saudi Super Cup with a score of 3-2.
The goals for the Egyptian club were scored by Maaloul, Hussein Al-Shahat and Emam Ashour, while Frenchman Karim Benzema scored Al-Ittihad’s only goal, knowing that the latter missed a penalty kick in the 45th minute.
Al-Ahly will play against Brazilian Fluminense in the semi-finals on Monday, while Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan will face Manchester City of England on Tuesday in the other match of this round.
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