Sepp Blatter called for action to prevent a repeat of the post-match violence in a letter to the Egyptian Football Association, whose board was subsequently fired by the prime minister and its members referred for questioning by prosecutors.
The deadliest soccer stadium disaster since 1996 unfolded in the Mediterranean city of Port Said on Wednesday night following Al-Masry’s league match against Al-Ahly, with fans crushed to death while others were fatally stabbed or suffocated in a stampede.
During an emergency parliamentary session in Cairo on Thursday, several lawmakers said some police and military failed to intervene, allowing the riot to happen to stoke insecurity in Egypt since the fall of leader Hosni Mubarak a year ago. Al-Masry manager Kamal Abu Ali resigned after the match, contending it was a “plot to topple the state.”
“I fully understand the country’s shock and anger that such a disaster could have come to pass,” Blatter wrote to EFA President Samir Zaher on Thursday. “Today is a black today for football and we must take steps to ensure that such a catastrophe never happens again. Football is a force for good, and we must not allow it to be abused by those who mean evil.
In Egypt, enraged citizens protested outside the Interior Ministry in Cairo on Thursday night, clashing with security forces. More than 260 people were wounded, mostly from tear gas inhalation, at the demonstration. Egyptian officials are still working to understand how Wednesday’s violence unfolded and what could have been done to prevent it. As the Post’s Ernesto Londono reported:
Egyptian officials vowed to get to the bottom of Wednesday’s clashes in Port Said and declared a three-day period of mourning for the 74 people killed in a barbaric fight between rival fans after a game between regional teams.
Stunned by the evening’s savagery, which came in the wake of a string of rare violent incidents, Egyptians pointed to ominous plots by domestic and foreign agents they accuse of working to undermine the aims of the revolutionaries that dethroned President Hosni Mubarak a year ago.
The young, ardent soccer fans, known as “ultras,” who have become a fixture of protests targeting the country’s military rulers appeared convinced the fight had been somehow instigated by the generals.
“They killed our youth, they’re killing us,” said Aya Ibrahim, 21, a medical student who was among the thousands who streamed into Tahrir Square on Thursday afternoon. “They are totally responsible. This was planned. We will not allow any more blood to be shed.”
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