# Egypt Football Violence Leaves at least 73 Dead

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-football-violence-leaves-at-least-73-dead/611461>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [February 1, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-football-violence-leaves-at-least-73-dead/611461 "2012-02-01T21:20:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![coolbyrne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc79bd/32.png) [@coolbyrne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coolbyrne)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-football-violence-leaves-at-least-73-dead/611461/1 "2012-02-01T21:20:44Z")

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In a match between Masry and al-Ahly in Port Said, violence erupted after the game, when fans rushed the pitch.  
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16845841](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16845841)

Apparently this was on the Masry Ultras twitter before the match:

[https://twitter.com/#!/egyFt/status/164798401031049216](https://twitter.com/#!/egyFt/status/164798401031049216)

On top of the violence, when word made it around to other arenas, players in Cairo stopped and wanted to take a moment of silence. Fans didn’t like that, and _set the fucking stadium on fire_.

I don’t know what the Egyptian football federation is, but there should be long-term sanctions against both teams. Maybe the Cairo team as well. It’d be a shame to punish the players, but I’m not sure what else can be done if those directly involved aren’t caught.

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**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-football-violence-leaves-at-least-73-dead/611461/2 "2012-02-01T21:34:53Z")

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BBC radio is reporting more than a thousand injured. It seems like this is more a political thing than a strictly football matter.

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**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-football-violence-leaves-at-least-73-dead/611461/3 "2012-02-02T09:18:33Z")

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I’ve heard from Egyptians that this is widely believed to be the work of the SCAF regime.

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**Author:** ![Cumbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-football-violence-leaves-at-least-73-dead/611461/4 "2012-02-02T10:29:48Z")

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Once all the facts are in, I can see this one moving to Great Debates. At the minute, what is in the press (western press at least) seems to suggest that it started out as a football thing and then rapidly turned into something else, with anti-government chanting and other protests but even these stories, as I understand them, are a bit muddled as people try to work out what is/was going on.

At least one report I’ve seen says that there are “always” tensions between these two sides. I wonder whether this will be “contained” as a football incident as a result.

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**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-football-violence-leaves-at-least-73-dead/611461/5 "2012-02-02T17:20:21Z")

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Watching the video of the riot, it looked a lot less like a football riot and more like “band of thugs bent on mayhem picked a place where they knew a lot of people would show up.” This was a planned attack.

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**Author:** ![whatwhatwhat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c89c15/32.png) [@whatwhatwhat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatwhatwhat)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-football-violence-leaves-at-least-73-dead/611461/6 "2012-02-02T19:22:08Z")

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it probably is planned.

after all, this just happened a few weeks ago:

[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Nf7B3JwN64)

…and this

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1XwjcllW1sM/maxresdefault.jpg "Zamalek Fans Riot Cairo Stadium") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XwjcllW1sM)

this

[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6NYznK-2GA)

this

[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGdD6yR8eFc)

and this.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/01mqg8O000I/hqdefault.jpg "احداث شغب جماهير المقاولون و جماهير الاسماعيلي سوبر كورة") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01mqg8O000I)

That’s not counting the 50+ people that were injured in clashes between Al Ahly ultras and police after their match with Kima Aswan or the 12 that were injured when police fought Zamalek ultras against Wadi Degla.

The fact that all of that went down after the revolution and in such a similar fashion is too much for a reasonable man to take. Ultras, especially those of Al Ahly, are known to be a huge headache and enemy for the army and police and critical for the revolution.

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**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egypt-football-violence-leaves-at-least-73-dead/611461/7 "2012-02-03T10:59:21Z")

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Something I found on another website posted by an Egyptian:

> [@](#):
>
> We have a lot more information now, from eyewitness testimony and videos, that helps us to understand why the casualty figures were so high. I’m going out in a few minutes (to a demonstration in Tahrir, naturally), so I’ll be brief:
> 
> The thugs were equipped with clubs suspiciously like the ones police are issued, which look like big sticks and are made of metal.
> 
> They were sent across the pitch to the bleachers where the Ahly Ultras were seated, and police did nothing to stop them. As they ran, they shouted to the regular Port Said fans, “Come on!” so that the regular fans would provide them with cover. Once they reached the bleachers, they began beating the Ultras savagely. The Ultras tried to escape via the only exit from the bleachers where they were. This exit consisted of a staircase which went down towards a short hallway and then a door to outside the stadium. This door is never locked, because it serves as a fire exit.
> 
> On this occasion, the fire door was locked. The Ultras found themselves facing the choice of either being beaten to death, or cramming themselves into the staircase. Those who stayed outside had their heads bashed in. Those already in the space were crushed by those trying to get in. Around one thousand of the Ultras were piled up on top of each other, some with only their hand or leg showing. Most of those who died were suffocated by the bodies on top.
> 
> It was a horrible, sadistic way for them to be killed. The police stood by and watched. Eyewitnesses outside the stadium said that police guarded the locked fire exit from the outside, ignoring the screams for help.