The dark side of football appeared in Egypt, partly fueled by political unrest, leading to at least 74 fatalities in Port Said.
It is one of the most violent disasters in football history.
The match was between Cairo based football team Al- Ahly and Port Said based club Al Masry. Following the final whistle a massive fight errupted between opposing teams and supporters as the fans staged a mass impromptu pitch invasion.
Government officials announced that at least 74 people were confirmed dead and hundreds more injured.
Three days of national mourning were declared following the disaster. Middle-East based correspondent Ian Lee said via twitter: “Tahrir square has been closed by Al Ahly supporters.”
The politically dominant Muslim brotherhood of Egypt blamed police forces and the army for failing to control the violence. The vice president of the political party of the brotherhood Justice and freedom Party (JFP) İssam Al Aryan claimed the violence was the result of negligent security forces. JFP gained a majority in the recent Egyptian democratic elections, receiving 34.5% of votes. The new Egyptian cabinet will not be put into power until June and military rule will remain in place until then.
It is feared that the violence will continue as the Al Ahly Ultras (radical fans) called for revenge. An upcoming match in the Cairo stadium between Al Ismailiya and Zamalek has been cancelled in light of yesterday’s troubles. Fans of Zamalek were furious with the cancellation decision and set fire to the Cairo Stadium.
Main Image: Twitter @shmp0ng0
