Fans initiated large-scale riots
Tencent Sports News On February 2, Beijing time, according to Agence France-Presse, the British Daily Mail and other media quoted local Egyptian TV news, after a football match in Port Said, Egypt, a large-scale conflict broke out between fans of the two teams. According to Xinhua News Agency, 74 people have been killed and 150 injured. Egyptian Football Association Chairman Zahir Zahir decided to postpone the football league indefinitely on the evening of the 1st.
This game was played between Al Masry and the famous Egyptian team Al Ahli. As a result, the Masry team at home defeated the Egyptian giants 3-1. However, as soon as the game ended, large-scale fan riots broke out in the stadium. Fans of both teams threw stones, fireworks and bottles, causing injuries to some players. This riot is considered to be the worst fan violence in Egypt in decades. According to the Daily Mail, the number of people killed in this violent riot has reached at least 70.
According to a military doctor in Port Said, some security officers have unfortunately died in the riot, while player Mohamed Treka described the game as a "war" between the fans of the two teams: "This is not football, this is a war, many people died in front of us. There is no security here, no ambulance," he sadly He painfully told a local TV reporter, "I request the Super League to cancel the game. The situation here is very critical and today should not be forgotten." It is reported that not long after the riots, a domestic game in Egypt was canceled. Unfortunately, fans of the game set off fireworks in the stadium because they protested the cancellation of the game.
Fan riots are not uncommon in African football. As early as April last year, there was a large-scale riot at the African Champions League. Thousands of fans armed themselves and joined the group. The riot took place in Egypt. In addition, Egyptian fans once clashed with riot police because the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup, causing at least 35 injuries. At the ongoing 2012 African Cup of Nations, fan riots have frequently occurred. Not only did police beat fans who did not vote, but even in the opening game, the police had to use tear gas to prevent fan riots. Another African football powerhouse, Côte d'Ivoire, once had as many as 22 people killed when fans stampeded on each other. Such incidents can be said to be numerous in African football.
For African football, the frequent large-scale fan riots are undoubtedly a tragedy. When football is hijacked by violence, the world's number one sport has lost its original meaning, and this is something that football-loving fans around the world don't want to see.
