While walking through the mixed zone, where reporters can interview players behind a barrier, following Algeria's 1-0 defeat to the United States, Saifi was involved in a heated altercation with female journalist Asma Halimi, who works for Algerian newspaper Competition.

Both Saifi and Halimi appeared to be involved in a row, before a water bottle was thrown.

Halimi told Press Association Sport: "I'm going to make a complaint to FIFA, a complaint to the police in South Africa and in Algeria."

Halimi said that last year she had translated an interview Saifi had made from Arabic into French for her newspaper, although it was not an interview she had conducted herself.

Halimi spoke to FIFA officials following the incident.

FIFA and Algeria officials were not immediately available for comment.

Algeria lost the match 1-0 to the United States after conceding an injury-time goal and were knocked out of the World Cup.