It was a sweet
and sour story for African football on Wednesday, February 1, where on one
hand, the beauty of football triumphed at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in
Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, but lost in Port Said, Egypt. While millions of
fans from around the continent were being treated to two exciting matches at
the 2012 African Cup of Nations, another ill-fated tie between local rivals -
minnows Al Masry and giant Al-Ahly was simultaneously being played in Port
Said, Egypt.
In the end, Ghana
played a 1-1 draw with Guinea while Mali edged out Botswana 2-1. Port Said recorded a surprise 3-1 win in
favour of Al Masry and the shocking loss of at least 74 fans dead and a
thousand injured after riots erupted at the blast of the final whistle. The violence escalated Al-Masry fans invaded the pitch and
hurled sticks and stones as they chased players and fans from the rival team,
who ran towards the exits and up the stands to escape. Police officers stood
by, appearing overwhelmed. It was the worst football stadium disaster in
the North African country, which has been the venue of recent political
upheavals. The next day, protesters gathered
outside the gates of the Cairo-based Al-Ahly football club's headquarters,
close to the central Tahrir Square, the tipping point of the revolution that
ousted Hosni Mubarak a year ago.
"I
was beaten with fists and kicks to the neck, head and feet. I saw our fans die
before us and we are unable to do anything." Said a shaken Manuel Jose,
Al-Ahly's Portuguese coach, who has since returned to Portugal and has
threatened to leave his coaching job with Egypt's most successful club.
According to
reports, many fans suffocated after becoming trapped in a narrow corridor as
they fled the violence, while some people blamed the Egyptian police and
security forces for not doing enough to intervene. "From the beginning of
the game, the fans of the opposing team were allowed to fire rockets and stones
at us without any intervention. In the end, it turned into a state of madness
without any role for the security in the stands. We tried to save the lives of
some of the fans, but many died before our eyes," explained Pedro Barny,
Al-Ahly assistant coach.
As a result,
the Egyptian Football Federation has suspended all leagues in the country.
"The Egyptian federation has decided to stop the football leagues in all
four divisions for an indefinite period after the violence that occurred in the
game between al-Masry and al-Ahly, which represented a tragic shock to the
centre of sport in general and the football family in particular,” read a
statement from the federation.
The incidence has so far claimed the
jobs of senior officials in Port Said and the football association who have
been sacked. The governor
of Port Said resigned, while the city's director of security and head of
investigations were suspended and are now in custody. The country’s government
has also declared three days of mourning.
"African
football is in a state of mourning,” Confederation of African Football (CAF)
president Issa Hayatou said. A one minute's silence
will be observed for the victims during the Nations Cup quarter-final matches this weekend. World football
governing body FIFA has demanded full investigation into the violence.
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