John Pantsil(L) and a teammate run with the Israeli flag
© AFP/File Gabriel BouysWUERZBURG, Germany (AFP) - Pantsil, who plays for Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv, celebrated both goals in Ghana's 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in Cologne on Saturday by pulling an Israeli flag out of his sock and waving it at the cameras.
Ghana team spokesman Randy Abbey said at the team's training base: "It was a thank you to his fans in the Israeli league.
"It was naive, he was not aware of the consequences of his actions. We apologise to everyone who felt offended by this.
"It was not an official message from the Ghanaian team. We do not represent Israeli politics or the politics of any other country. We are just here to play football."
Pantsil's action sparked a barrage of insults and furious reactions in newspapers in Egypt on Monday.
"The ignorant and stupid Pantsil, who spent 20 days in Egypt during the last African Nations Cup, plays for Hapoel," sports commentator Alaa Sadek wrote in the daily Al-Akhbar, explaining Pantsil's link to Israel.
"Egyptians supported the Ghanaian team all the way until the 82nd minute, and regretted it after the Israeli flag (waving)," screamed a bold red headline in the independent daily Al-Masry al-Yom.
The live commentator on the Arab satellite channel broadcasting all World Cup matches in the region abruptly cut short his trademark "goooaaaaaaal" when Pantsil brought out the flag.
"What are you doing, man?" the bewildered commentator said.
Some papers described 25-year-old Pantsil as a "Mossad agent", others said "an Israeli had paid him to do it" but the most elaborate theory was offered by the top-selling state-owned daily Al-Ahram.
Sports analyst Hassan el-Mestekawi said in the paper that many Ghanaian players attend football training camps set up by an Israeli coach who "discovered the treasure of African talent, and abused the poverty of the continent's children" with the ultimate goal of selling them off to European clubs.
Football's governing body FIFA said they had taken note of the flag-waving and that although there was nothing in the rules to prevent it, they hoped not to see a repetition.
Egyptian football fans were equally rattled when the player produced the Israeli flag.
"We were totally supporting Ghana and we were so excited by how well they were doing," Ashraf al-Berri told AFP.
"We were screaming with joy, but the whole room went quiet when Pantsil took out the flag. We didn't really know how to react," he said.
Another fan, Osama Mohy, told AFP: "As an Egyptian I am very sensitive when it comes to Israel."
African champions Egypt failed to qualify for the World Cup finals.
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