Al-Ahly players escaped from
the field as fans of Al-Masry
rushed to the pitch [AFP]
At least 73 people have been
killed in clashes after a football
game in the Egyptian city of Port
Said, medics say.
Hundreds of others were injured
in Wednesday's violence,
including security personnel. At
least two players suffered light
injuries.
Fans of the winning al-Masry
team flooded the field seconds
after the match with al-Ahly,
Egypt's top team, was over.
A security official said the fans
chased the players and cornered
their supporters on the field and
around the stadium,
throwing stones and bottles at
them.
Thousands of supporters
covered the field, as seen in a
video posted online.
"This is unfortunate and deeply
saddening. It is the biggest
disaster in Egypt's soccer
history," Hesham Sheiha, deputy
health minister, said.
He said most of the injuries were
caused by concussion and deep
cuts.
Al-Ahly football players were
trapped in the changing room
along with supporters. Riot
police were sent in to drive the
rival crowds of fans back.
Reuters news agency quoted
military sources as saying the
army sent helicopters to transfer
al-Ahly football players and fans
from Port Said.
'War, not football'
"This is not football. This is a war
and people are dying in front of
us. There is no movement and no
security and no
ambulances," Abo Treika told the
Ahly television channel. "This is a
horrible situation and today can
never be forgotten."
Fans stormed the pitch second
after the game was over
State television announced that
parliament will hold an
emergency session over the
violence. State prosecutors
ordered an investigation into the
pitch invasion and the violence
that ensued,
Al-Ahly's supporter club, Ultras,
said on their website that they
would head to Port Said later in
the evening.
Al-Masry team won a rare 3-1
against Al-Ahly.
The two teams have a long
history of bad blood, and clashes
have erupted in recent years
between their fans.
Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh,
reporting from Cairo, said several
football games after the
revolution have witnessed
violence due to the absence of
police forces.
"In the security vacuum that has
lasted since the revolution, the
police force has basically
disappeared from the street after
their notorious performance
during the revolution."
A match in Cairo on Wednesday
evening was interrupted
following the news of the deaths
in Port Said. Television footage
showed a big fire behind the
supporter stand at the Cairo
stadium.
The Premier League which the
games were part of was
suspended indefinitely.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

Na wah o! I think these Egyptians are now used to violence since after the uprising with or without the presence of the police.

F0rk Egypt!