Riots after a football match in Egypt’s Port Said left 73 people dead over thousand were injured after the clash between two football teams.
It was one of the worst soccer violence in the sport’s history and deadliest worldwide since 1996.
The ruckus broke out after fans of Al-Masry, the home team in Port Said, stormed the field after a rare 3-1 win against Al-Ahly, Egypts’s top team.
Supporters of the Al-Masry team pelted stones and bottles at the rival team and chased them out of the stadium.
The footage from the State TV showed Al-Ahly players rushing to their locker rooms as fist fights broke out among hundreds of fans swarming on to the field.
Troops were deployed to prevent further clashes as there were reports of gunfire on the main road leading to Port Said from Cairo.
An immediate investigation was ordered into the violence. The Egypt Football Association has even ordered an indefinite suspension of the annual championship.
In 1996, 78 people were killed and 180 injured in a stampede at a stadium in Guatemala City before a World Cup qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica.
.
according to the Doctors the death toll had reached 73, as ambulances continued to ferry in the injured from the stadium.
Some of the deaths were the result of stab wounds, the doctors said.
A security official said the violence erupted as soon as the referee blew the final whistle in the match between Al-Ahly and Al-Masri clubs.
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.
Meanwhile in the capital, a fire broke out at Cairo Stadium during the first half of a match between Zamalek and Ismaili clubs, prompting officials to cancel the match.
Emergency services have managed to control the blaze, a security official said.
Related posts:
