Scores killed in Egypt football violence












At least 73 people dead and hundreds injured as supporters of rival teams clash after game in Port Said.

At least 73 people have been killed in clashes after a football game in the Egyptian city of Port Said, medics say.


Hundreds of others were injured in Wednesday's violence, including
security personnel. At least two players suffered light injuries.
Fans of the winning al-Masry team flooded the field seconds after the match with al-Ahly, Egypt's top team, was over.


A security official said the fans chased the players and cornered their supporters on the field and around the stadium,
throwing stones and bottles at them.


Thousands of supporters covered the field, as seen in a video posted online.


"This is unfortunate and deeply saddening. It is the biggest disaster
in Egypt's soccer history," Hesham Sheiha, deputy health minister,
said.
He said most of the injuries were caused by concussion and deep cuts.


Al-Ahly football players were trapped in the changing room along with
supporters. Riot police were sent in to drive the rival crowds of fans
back.
Reuters news agency quoted military sources as saying the army sent
helicopters to transfer al-Ahly football players and fans from Port
Said. The helicopters will transfer the injured to military hospitals.
'War, not football'


"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 Ahly television channel. "This is a horrible situation and today can never be forgotten."








Fans stormed the pitch second after the game was over



State television announced that parliament will hold an emergency
session over the violence. State prosecutors ordered an investigation
into the pitch invasion and the violence that ensued,
Al-Ahly's supporter club, Ultras, said on their website that they would head to Port Said later in the evening.


Al-Masry team won a rare 3-1 against Al-Ahly.


The two teams have a long history of bad blood, and clashes have erupted in recent years between their fans.


Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo, said several football
games after the revolution have witnessed violence due to the absence
of police forces.
"In the security vacuum that has lasted since the revolution, the
police force has basically disappeared from the street after their
notorious performance during the revolution."
A match in Cairo on Wednesday evening was interrupted following the
news of the deaths in Port Said. Television footage showed a big fire
behind the supporter stand at the Cairo stadium.
The Premier League which the games were part of was suspended indefinitely.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/02/20122118396971404.html