Egypt’s best known archaeologist apologised after he angrily called Lionel Messi "an idiot" because the Argentine football superstar seemed to show little interest during a tour of the Pyramids of Giza.
Zahi Hawass, famed for his Indiana Jones hat and television specials on Egypt’s ancient sites, showed Messi around the pyramids last month during a brief visit to the country by the Barcelona striker.
In a TV interview aired on Sunday, Mr Hawass was asked how Messi’s reaction compared to that of Hollywood movie star Will Smith, who also toured the Pyramids with Mr Hawass earlier this month.
"Messi is an idiot, and I am sorry to say that," he snapped. "I was explaining the antiquities to him and there’s no reaction in his face. I was explaining things that would make a rock react, but he was just like an idiot."
In a statement released late on Tuesday, Mr Hawass said he was expressing anger over an inefficient interpreter when he was interviewed on the telephone by a talk-show host. He made no mention of an interpreter in his original comments on Messi.
"I apologise to Messi and his fans for the misunderstanding," he said, professing to be an avid fan of the Argentine who watches all his games on television.
"The nature of brief telephone interviews does not allow enough time to accurately explain what is meant. That contributed to the misunderstanding," he said.
Mr Hawass, a former antiquities minister, added that he would like to take Messi to visit the tomb of King Tutankhamun in Luxor if he were to visit Egypt again.

Source : The National