Holy crap. This is taking hooliganism to another level:
The death toll rose to at least 73 people late Wednesday after hooligans from the winning team stormed onto the field after an Egyptian soccer match between two longtime rivals and attacked opposing players and fans.
Violence broke out in the coastal town of Port Said after that city’s team won a rare victory over the visiting Ahly, a powerhouse club from Cairo. Port Said supporters rushed the field immediately after the game as chaos spread and players and fans from Ahly ran for cover beneath the stadium and into locker rooms.
Egyptian TV quoted medical authorities as saying at least 73 people had been killed. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the nation’s military ruler, dispatched military planes to Port Said to pick up Ahly players and fans and return them to Cairo.
Security officials feared the riot would lead to retaliation by Ahly hooligans, known as Ultras. The group was involved in the attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo in September, and its members have been on the front lines in the recent deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and riot police and soldiers.
Philadelphia Union fans are considerably better behaved. They don’t go around attacking embassies and killing the opposing fans. And Philly is not known for the good behavior of its fans. That’s part of why I chose to root for New York teams even though both were on my teevee.
Interestingly, the former head coach of the U.S. Men National Soccer Team, Bob Bradley, is now the national coach for Egypt and will try to get them into the World Cup. Hooliganism is widespread, but this might be the worst case of it ever seen. The death toll is already much higher than in the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster.
It’s senseless. I love soccer, but it’s just a game.
