Reuters, AFP and Yahoo!7
February 2, 2012, 7:20 am
•'It's war, not football'
At least 73 people are reported dead with hundreds injured after a pitch invasion in the Egyptian city of Port Said.
At least 73 people were killed and 1000 injured in a riot at a soccer match in the Egyptian city of Port Said, the worst disaster in the country's soccer history, health officials said.
"The death toll, as a result of the unrest after the match between Al-Ahly and Al-Masri, has reached 73," deputy health minister Helmy al-Efni said.
Medics said some of the deaths were the result of stab wounds and that the death toll could rise even further as ambulances continued to ferry in the injured from the stadium.
Shops in the northern city of Port Said, which sits at the entrance to the Suez Canal, shut their doors as private cars helped to shuttle the injured across the city to hospitals.
The game was between Al Ahli, one of Egypt's most successful clubs, and al-Masry, a team based in Port Said. Live television footage showed fans running onto the field and chasing Ahli soccer players.
A security official said the violence erupted as soon as the referee blew the final whistle. Fans of Al-Masri, which beat Al-Ahly 3-0, invaded the pitch and began to throw rocks, bottles and fireworks at the Al-Ahly fans.
Gallery: Egyptian football fans rush to the fields during clashes that erupted after a football match between Egypt's Al-Ahly and Al-Masry teams in Port Said, 220 kms northeast of Cairo. Photo: AAP
Live television footage showed fans running onto the field and chasing Ahli players. A small group of riot police formed a corridor to try to protect the players, but they appeared overwhelmed and fans were still able to kick and punch the players as they fled.
Gunfire was also reported on the main road leading to Port Said from Cairo.
Ahli player Mohamed Abo Treika described the violence as war as Masry fans invaded the pitch after the referee blew the whistle, even though the team had beaten Ahli 3-1.
"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 Ahli television channel. "I call for the premier league to be cancelled. This is horrible situation and today can never be forgotten."
State television quoted Hesham Sheiha, deputy health minister, as saying that most of the injuries were caused by concussion and deep cuts.
"This is unfortunate and deeply saddening. It is the biggest disaster in Egypt's soccer history," deputy health minister Hesham Sheiha told state television.
Egypt's military ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who took power when veteran president Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising in February, has sent two military planes to Port Said to fly out the players and the injured, state television reported.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest political force, accused Mubarak supporters of instigating the football violence.
Flares are thrown in the stadium during clashes. Photo: AAP
"The events in Port Said are planned and are a message from the remnants of the former regime," said MP Essam al-Erian in a statement on the Islamist group's Freedom and Justice Party website.
Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmud has ordered an immediate investigation into the violence, state television reported.
Parliament speaker Saad al-Katatni, a member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, said that the People's Assembly would hold an emergency session on Thursday at 11:00 AM (0900 GMT) to discuss the violence.
Newly elected liberal deputy Amr Hamzawi has called for the immediate sacking of the interior minister as well as the governor and security chief of Port Said.
Another match in Cairo was halted by the referee after receiving news of the violence in Port Said, prompting fans to set parts of the stadium on fire, television footage showed.
Egypt's football federation indefinitely delayed premier league matches after the violence, state television reported. Egypt's parliament would hold an emergency session on Thursday, according to state media reports
Violence at football matches across north Africa has increased significantly since political unrest sweeping across the region began more than a year ago.
Since last February's ouster of Mubarak, Egypt has seen sporadic and sometimes deadly unrest coupled with a sharp rise in crime, linked to the scarcity of the unpopular police, who were heavily criticised for their crackdown on protesters during the uprising.
Earlier on Wednesday, gunmen raided a money transfer company in Cairo, state news agency MENA reported, bringing to five the number of armed robberies in less than a week in a country previously unaccustomed to such incidents.
In the capital, with its population of 20 million, crimes such as car theft have also became more widespread over the past 12 months.
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