Troops out after deadly Egypt football clash

Troops out after deadly 

Egypt football clash

At least 74 people dead and 1,000 injured as supporters of rival teams clash after game in Port Said. 

Egypt deployed troops in the northern city of Port Said after deadly clashes following a football match killed 74 people.

"Egypt's army has deployed troops in Port Said to prevent further clashes between fans of [football teams] Al-Ahly and Al-Masri," state television reported on Wednesday, adding that the military had also secured the road out of the city.

Forty-seven people have been arrested in connection with the violent pitch invasion, the country's interior minister said.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said many of the victims had died in the crush of people at the stadium. Ibrahim told state television the search for suspects linked to the incident was continuing.

The head of the ruling military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, has vowed to track down those behind the violence in a rare phone call to an Egyptian TV channel.

"These kind of events can happen anywhere in the world but we will not let those behind this get away," Tantawi said, speaking to the sports television channel owned by Al Ahly, one of the teams playing. He said victims would receive compensation after their cases were examined.

"We will get through this stage. Egypt will be stable. We have a roadmap to transfer power to elected civilians. If anyone is plotting instability in Egypt they will not succeed. Everyone will get what they deserve," he said, adding that securing the game was the responsibility of the police force.

About 1,000 people were also injured in the violence, including police. 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 al-Ahly 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," said Hesham Sheiha, deputy health minister. He said most of the injuries were caused by concussion and deep cuts.

Al-Ahly players were trapped in the changing room along with supporters. Riot police were sent in to drive the rival crowds of fans back.

'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," al-Ahly player Abo Treika told the team's television channel.

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

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.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest political force,  accused supporters of the toppled president, Hosni Mubarak, of instigating the violence.

"The events in Port Said are planned and are a message from the remnants of the former regime," Essam al-Erian, a parliamentarian, said in a statement on the group's Freedom and Justice Party website.

Al-Ahly's supporter club, Ultras, said on their website that they would head to Port Said later in the evening.

History of clashes

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was "very shocked and saddened" to learn that a large number of football supporters had died or been injured".

"This is a black day for football," he said in a statement. "Such a catastrophic situation is unimaginable and should not happen."

Al-Masry team won a rare 3-1 victory against Al-Ahly on its home turn in Wednesday's match.

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 al-Ahly fans were said to have been provoking al-Masry fans throughout the game with abusive language.

But our correspondent said the issue goes beyond the pitch, as Egypt is experiencing a "security vacuum" after the revolution which overthrew Mubarak.

"There were clearly riot police on that pitch, but they were seen either not getting involved or running in the other direction," she said.

"Some people say the police force perhaps has not been trained to deal with violence, except in the way they were trained during Mubarak, which was with sheer and brutal force. And now when they can't do that, they're unable to deal with violence."

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.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies