CAIRO, Egypt — Egyptian soldiers and police clashed with thousands of angry soccer fans in a Suez Canal city over the suspension of their club after a deadly riot last month, witnesses said Saturday. A medical official said a teenager was killed.
The Feb. 1 riot in the city of Port Said in which at least 73 people died was the world’s worst soccer-related disaster in 15 years. The causes remain murky. Officers have been charged with assisting Port Said soccer fans to attack supporters of a Cairo club who had a long history of enmity with the police, and some port residents have claimed that hired outsiders were responsible for much of the killing.
In the latest clashes, Egyptian troops fired volleys of tear gas and shot into in the air to disperse protesters affiliated with Port Said’s Al-Masry club, angry for what they see as unfair measures against their club and their city. Violence broke out late Friday and continued until early Saturday.
Witnesses said protesters set fire to tires, blocked major roads and then gathered in front of the Suez Canal’s main administrative building in an attempt to storm it. Soldiers and police cordoned off the building.
The official said teenager Belal Mamdouh was killed with a gunshot to the back while 25 were injured. He spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The clashes began after the Egyptian Football Association on Friday officially suspended Al-Masry for two seasons ending 2013, and closed its stadium for three years as punishment for the stadium riot.
Protesters also denounced what they described as a media campaign against their club.
The Feb. 1 riot began minutes after the final whistle in a league match between Cairo club al-Ahly, the most popular in Egypt, and Al-Masry. The home side won 3-1, but fans were upset for what they said were obscene signs raised by Al-Ahly club fans.
Survivors of the stadium riot say men wielding batons, knifes, and fireworks streamed from Al-Masry stands and stormed the field to attack Al-Ahly fans, stabbing them, undressing them and tossing them off bleachers while the police looked on.
Egypt’s general prosecutor charged 75 people including nine senior police officers with assisting the attackers from Al-Masry stands.
Front Section, Pages 8 on 03/25/2012