The killing of more than 20 soccer fans outside a Cairo stadium in a melee with security forces has revived scrutiny of police tactics in Egypt less than a month after a woman was shot dead during the dispersal of a peaceful protest marking the anniversary of the 2011 uprising. The violence late Sunday, which prompted the Cabinet to suspend the national football league indefinitely, came three years after Egypt witnessed one of the deadliest soccer riots in the sport’s history, and dealt a further blow to the military-backed Government’s attempt to project an image of stability after four years of political turmoil.
The Cabinet announced the suspension of the national league late Sunday after riot police clashed with hundreds of soccer fans and fired tear gas to clear a narrow corridor leading to the Air Defense stadium in an eastern Cairo suburb, setting off a deadly stampede. Egypt last suspended the league in 2012 after 74 fans were killed in rioting that broke out following a match in the Suez Canal city of Port Said. That violence sparked outrage at the police and the transitional military council that had assumed power following the 2011 overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.
Fans have only recently been allowed back in stadiums, but authorities continue to limit the number who can attend. Egypt’s public prosecutor has ordered an investigation of the violence. On Monday, pro-government media and the Interior Ministry, which is in-charge of the police, sought to deflect blame from the security forces. The President of Zamalek, lawyer Mortada Mansour, told a private TV station that police did not open fire on the club’s fans, as was widely reported on social media, and that Sunday’s violence was “orchestrated” to foil upcoming parliamentary elections. Prominent pro-government commentator Ahmed Moussa warned against calling the victims “martyrs,” saying they attempted to break the law. “Thugs cannot be martyrs,” he said late Sunday on television.
Mansour is a staunch supporter of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the former Army chief who has waged a sweeping crackdown on dissent since he led the 2013 overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader. Authorities say Sunday’s violence began when hundreds of hard-core Zamalek fans known as Ultras White Knights tried to force their way into the stadium to attend the soccer match without tickets.