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Egyptian football mourns its dead
Thursday, 02 February 2012
ShareEgyptian football is in crises and just where the country goes from here following the tragic death of 74 fans and security personal after a match on Wednesday remains to be seen.
The incident happened after Al-Masry defeated Al Ahly 3-1 in Port Said in an Egyptian Premier League game and appeared to be a co-ordinated attack.
Al Masry fans stormed onto the pitch and cornered their outnumbered Al Ahly counterparts, throwing stones, beating them with sticks and stabbing with knives that had quite obviously been brought to the game with the intention of creating violence.
Some fans and security guards also lost their lives in the crush to escape the violence, while others were thrown from the top tier of the stadium to their deaths
One fan told TV station ONTV: "They came at us with machetes and knives. They threw some of us from the fourth floor."
Another added: "Everyone was beating us. They were beating us from inside and outside, with fireworks, stones, metal bars and some had knives, I swear."
The Premier League has been brought to a halt indefinitely and it is hard to see how it can be restarted anytime soon under the current political conditions in the country.
It is believed the attack may have been politically motivated, with some Ahly fans labeled as supporters of ousted former president Hosni Mubarak.
The Al-Masry board immediately announced their resignation and a harrowing account of the aftermath of the events was placed on their website.
“As soon as the match ended, the blood of Ahli fans from the stands right below the website’s office at the stadium was all over the place,” a statement from the Al-Masry site read.
“There was blood on the seats, computers and walls. The Masry website team had to turn into medics to help the injured.
“We were all crying as it was a very sad scene that we will never forget. We apologise for not being able to resume our normal work for technical and human reasons.”
Masry football director Ibrahim Hassan and his brother, Hassan, who coached the side, have vowed not to work in Egyptian football again.
Meanwhile, Al Ahly players Mohamed Barakat and Emad Meteb say the club will not play another football match until some sort of justice is meted out to those responsible.
“We won’t play football again … we won’t play football again … we won’t play football again,” Barakat told Modern Kora TV. “We don’t want to play until justice is served. People have died. What can I say! People have died.
“We were stoned during the match and even so the referee insists to continue the game. I am asking officials who are keen to keep the league going because of some money…are you happy now? We didn’t see one ambulance car since the match was over. This is war.”
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