Stadium riot turns deadly in Egypt
At least 25 people killed after fans and police clash following a soccer match
CAIRO— A riot broke out Sunday night outside of a major soccer game in Egypt, with a stampede and fighting between police and fans killing at least 25 people, security officials said.
The riot, only three years after similar violence killed 74 people, began ahead of a match between Egyptian Premier League clubs Zamalek and ENPPI at Air Defence Stadium, east of Cairo. Such attacks in the past have sparked days of violent protests pitting the country’s hard-core fans against police officers in a nation already on edge after years of revolt and turmoil.
Security officials said some people died during a stampede, while others died in clashes with police. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to speak to journalists.
What caused the violence wasn’t immediately clear. Security officials said Zamalek fans tried to force their way into the match without tickets, sparking clashes. Fans have only recently been allowed back at matches and the Interior Ministry planned to only let 10,000 fans into the stadium, which has a capacity of about 30,000, the officials said.
Zamalek fans, known as “White Knights,” posted on their group’s official Facebook page that the vio- lence began because authorities only opened one narrow, barbed-wire door to let them in. They said that sparked pushing and shoving that later saw police officers fire tear gas.
A fan who tried to attend the game, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity out of fear of being targeted by police, said that the stampede was caused by police, who fired tear gas at the tightlypacked crowd.
“Those who fell down could not get back up again,” the man said.
The Zamalek fan group later posted pictures on Facebook it claimed were of dead fans, including the names of 22 people it said had been killed. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the images, nor their casualty count.
Egypt’s hard-core soccer fans, known as Ultras, frequently clash with police inside and outside of stadiums.
They are deeply politicized and many participated in the country’s 2011 uprising that forced out President Hosni Mubarak. Many consider them as one of the most organized movements in Egypt after the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. The violence comes as police come under increasing scrutiny following the shooting death of a female protester in Cairo and the arrest of protesters under a law largely banning demonstrations.