73 dead in violence at Egyptian football match

Amirani

Shocking stuff. Only absolute scum would bring a knife to a football match.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0201/egypt.html

At least 73 people are now confirmed dead following violence and a pitch invasion at a football match in the Egytian city of Port Said.

There are reports that up to 1,000 people have been injured.

The game was between Al-Ahli, one of Egypt's most successful clubs, and al-Masry, a team based in Port Said.

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 opposing fans.

Medics said some of the deaths were the result of stab wounds and that the death toll could rise even further.

Two military helicopters were deployed to evacuate the visiting team and some of its fans from the city.

State television quoted deputy health minister Hesham Sheiha 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," Hesham Sheiha told state television.

Ahli player Mohamed Abo Treika said Masry fans invaded the pitch after the referee blew the whistle, even though their team had won the game 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."

Gunfire was later reported on the main road leading to Port Said from Cairo.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest political force, later accused supporters of ousted president Hosni Mubarak of instigating the violence.
"The events in Port Said are planned and are a message from the remnants of the former regime," claimed MP Essam al-Erian in a statement on the Islamist group's Freedom and Justice Party website.

In the capital itself, a match at Cairo Statium was halted by the referee after receiving news of the violence in Port Said, prompting fans in Cairo to set parts of the stadium on fire.

There were no reports of injuries from that incident.

MugMugs

So what's your take on this OP?

Been watching it unfold on BBC news, hard to imagine just how out of control it got.

Apparently there were few police in the stadium, normally for matches between these two teams there used to be a large police presence as they are known to be volatile.

One of the symptoms of a country without a fully functioning government!

My name is URL

Animals

danniemcq

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16845841

bbc story on it

that is ****ing crazy

Amirani

Appears to be serious political undertones to this relating to the overthrow of Mubarak. Much more than a football rivalry.

Freddie59

Very, very sad. People gone to watch a match ending up dead because of a few pricks. May they Rest In Peace.

Lawrence1895

R.I.P. to all the victims.

Football is supposed to be a game, not a stage for violence :mad:

Eglinton

Taking Injury Time to a whole new level....

FouxDaFaFa

When I heard about this I assumed there had been a stadium collapse or that people had been trampled. To think that the crowd actually turned on each other is just shocking.

jimthemental

If this is politically motivated it is truly disgusting considering the amount of children who would be at a match. I have a feeling we are going to hear some real horror stories from this one.

lividduck

Jezus, is Suarez playing in Egypt now?

MickySticks

I wonder do they use the pyramid formation in Egyptian soccer.

MickySticks

lividduck wrote: »

Jezus, is Suarez playing in Egypt now?

Not playing for anyone now, he is suspended for racism.

Latchy

Just horrible to think people turned on each in such savage manner and also makes one realise how important security is at football matches because without it , it could happen ' anywhere ' .

Icepick

NiallSparky wrote: »

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 opposing fans.

Ahli player Mohamed Abo Treika said Masry fans invaded the pitch after the referee blew the whistle, even though their team had won the game 3-1.

lividduck

MickySticks wrote: »

Not playing for anyone now, he is suspended for racism.

Its ok, you'll get it.....











eventually:D:D:D

vicwatson

Are the Egyptians using Football as an excuse for the lawlessness that occurs daily in Egypt?

RIP the dead

Yakult

MickySticks wrote: »

lividduck wrote: »

Jezus, is Suarez playing in Egypt now?

Not playing for anyone now, he is suspended for racism.

The ban is over now

amacachi

Latchy wrote: »

Just horrible to think people turned on each in such savage manner and also makes one realise how important security is at football matches because without it , it could happen ' anywhere ' .

There was more security at that match than any Premier League match I've seen, they just stood by and watched it. There was a post on Twitter before the match saying opposition fans had better had wills. It was planned and seemingly was allowed happen.

fedor.2.

Pyramids are wasted in that kip of a country

John Doe1

Bloody hell and i thought boca juniors v river plate was bad

John Doe1

fedor.2. wrote: »

Pyramids are wasted in that kip of a country

what a compassionate man you are:p

Latchy

amacachi wrote: »

There was more security at that match than any Premier League match I've seen, they just stood by and watched it. There was a post on Twitter before the match saying opposition fans had better had wills. It was planned and seemingly was allowed happen.

Just listening to news reports now and yes it seems the Egyptian Police can't be trusted to protect it's people on any side .

stovelid

Latchy wrote: »

and also makes one realise how important security is at football matches because without it , it could happen ' anywhere ' .

I think when so many people decide to run amok, the security will just be overrun unfortunately.

The Golden Miller

theres gonna be some serious rioting in the return fixture, when the away teams fans are out for revenge

fedor.2.

Just wait till the islamists really take over, you will see deaths in stadiums every week. There is no hope for places like that.

wandatowell

ffs im sick **** off all this bad news, its just **** followed by more ****.


anyways RIP footie fans

FouxDaFaFa

I'm on Twitter reading more about this. According to a lot of Egyptian tweeters, the police deliberately minimised their presence at the game and when the violence broke out they closed the stadium door and turned the lights out, resulting in the chaos and some trampling. Ambulances also had trouble getting in to help.

A common word I'm hearing is "revenge" and "conspiracy", that the police wanted revenge for what they see as public humiliation with the overthrowing of Mubarak. It's hard to know if people just want to believe this rather than accepting that something terrible happened tonight and was perpetrated by ordinary egyptians, or if there is any truth in it.

Cairo is not the best place to be right now, there are also people reporting looting.

Latchy

stovelid wrote: »

I think when so many people decide to run amok, the security will just be overrun unfortunately.

Very true ...be interesting though to see just how before today horror what security measures (if any ) where in place .

It seemed (according to some reports) to have been pre planned and going by british police tactics on a tip off of any possible violence ,the game would have never been allowed to take place .Off course if any mob really want's to get to the oppisition they will find a way .

YFlyer

The Golden Miller wrote: »

theres gonna be some serious rioting in the return fixture, when the away teams fans are out for revenge

Was the match played?

fedor.2.

fedor.2. wrote: »

Pyramids are wasted in that kip of a country

[OT] The current "Egyptians" are Arabs and are not in any way related to the Egyptians who built the Pyramids!

[/OT]

Sounding more and more like old scores being settled after the uprising! A lot of innocent people would have been caught up in this.

FouxDaFaFa

Albadry Farghali, a member of parliament for Port Said, accused officials and security forces of allowing the disaster, saying they still had ties to the government of Mubarak, who was overthrown a year ago.
“The security forces did this or allowed it to happen. The men of Mubarak are still ruling. The head of the regime has fallen but all his men are still in their positions,” he screamed in a telephone call to live television.
“Where is the security? Where is the government?”
A number of policemen were among the dead, a medical source and witnesses said.
Many of the fans involved were hardline supporters of Ahli who fought during last year’s revolution with police, one of the most hated arms of Mubarak’s state.
These “ultras” again battled with police in and around Cairo’s Tahrir Square in November and December last year in protests calling for the military to hand over power to civilians immediately.

Reuters

tigger123

fedor.2. wrote: »

Just wait till the islamists really take over, you will see deaths in stadiums every week. There is no hope for places like that.

Really? Is that one of the tenants of the Islamic faith? Weekly riots?

Do they do it of a Sunday? Or are there mid-week fixtures too? :rolleyes:

tigger123

tigger123 wrote: »

Really? Is that one of the tenants of the Islamic faith? Weekly riots?

Do they do it of a Sunday? Or are there mid-week fixtures too? :rolleyes:

I think he's referring to executions for "crimes punishable by death" under some of the more extreme Islamic regimes.

GiftofGab

As Bill Shankly once said "football is not a matter of life and death, its much more important than that".

Amirani

tigger123 wrote: »

Really? Is that one of the tenants of the Islamic faith? Weekly riots?

Do they do it of a Sunday? Or are there mid-week fixtures too? :rolleyes:

He said Islamists, not Muslims. It's akin to asking whether the actions and beliefs of the IRA are representative of the Catholic faith.

JonathanAnon

I still dont understand this.... Are they saying that 74 people were all stabbed or died from fight related injuries ???

EdenHazard

GiftofGab wrote: »

As Bill Shankly once said "football is not a matter of life and death, its much more important than that".

He was being ironic as well...this isn't anything football related tho, its just a brutual and horrific example of the social problems that exist in egypt. its weird being from ireland we're removed from this but think of all the fans who just went to the match to support their own team from their city no interest in any of this, and probably got wound up in it.

Amirani

JonathanAnon wrote: »

I still dont understand this.... Are they saying that 74 people were all stabbed or died from fight related injuries ???

Yes.

K-9

A sad reminder of Heysel and Hillsborough, though the latter wasn't anything to with rioting, just a sad indictment of the reaction to it. Please God this is just a reminder of 25 years ago in England.

Sympathies to the victims and families.

Stereomaniac

No how many are injured and how many are dead, the reports I have read have been ambiguous?

JonathanAnon

K-9 wrote: »

A sad reminder of Heysel and Hillsborough, though the latter wasn't anything to with rioting, just a sad indictment of the reaction to it. Please God this is just a reminder of 25 years ago in England.

Well, at Heysel, a significant number of the Juventus fans where killed when a stand collapsed (a consequence of the rioting).. That's why I cant understand how 74 people were killed by just the fighting.

finbarrk

It was a wall that collapsed in Brussels. I'd imagine the whole league will be called off over there In Egypt now.

Chucky the tree

JonathanAnon wrote: »

Well, at Heysel, a significant number of the Juventus fans where killed when a stand collapsed (a consequence of the rioting).. That's why I cant understand how 74 people were killed by just the fighting.

They were stabbed. Also reports of them being strangled and thrown off the top deck of the stadium.

kryogen

JonathanAnon wrote: »

Well, at Heysel, a significant number of the Juventus fans where killed when a stand collapsed (a consequence of the rioting).. That's why I cant understand how 74 people were killed by just the fighting.

They were massacred, reports of people being thrown off higher parts of the stadium, strangled, stabbed to death, trampled to death etc....

This story will run and run I feel.

The truth will probably never be fully revealed however, from watching the videos and reading reports/watching the news etc... this seems to be a disgusting act orchestrated by higher ups.

The turning off the lights, the locking the doors, the allowing knives to be brought in. The twitter message before the game even, this is a chilling story.

Watching a boy, (young possibly a ball boy) running in the middle of the pitch to escape this and seeing children get shoved over railing in a bid to save them from getting swept up in it was sickening.

Puts plenty of silly **** into perspective

saintsaltynuts

Eglinton wrote: »

Taking Injury Time to a whole new level....

I cant see the funny side to that at all mate.

FouxDaFaFa

JonathanAnon wrote: »

I still dont understand this.... Are they saying that 74 people were all stabbed or died from fight related injuries ???

I believe some people were trampled to death as they ran to get away from the violence. It's really unclear at the moment. Some people say fans fell from the stands, others are saying they were thrown. Very hard to know what is unbiased.

finbarrk

saintsaltynuts wrote: »

I cant see the funny side to that at all mate.

That's why serious issues shouldn't be discussed on this particular forum. Too many clowns here.

dfx-

FouxDaFaFa wrote: »

I believe some people were trampled to death as they ran to get away from the violence. It's really unclear at the moment. Some people say fans fell from the stands, others are saying they were thrown. Very hard to know what is unbiased.

They had nowhere to run by some accounts. The gates were locked and the floodlights were switched off. The fans in that stand were essentially fed to the locals. They had no way out. Some official somewhere had decided before the game that not all those fans in that end were going to get out alive.

Something like 73 dead, a couple of fans leaders who might have been hunted..hundreds, possibly 1k injured.

saintsaltynuts

finbarrk wrote: »

That's why serious issues shouldn't be discussed on this particular forum. Too many clowns here.

I know pal.As a football fan im a bit sick,as human being im sick at this.Im a League Of Ireland fan myself and these people were the same as myself just wanting to go out and watch their team play and this happens to them.I thought i had problems til now.