Crazy scenes in Egypt

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My God this is at a football match!

Awful, awful scenes. Terribly upsetting.

It doesn't seem appropriate to use such an occasion to make a point but the BBC report you linked to contains this "The al-Ahly fans, known as Ultras, have a particular reputation for violence." I guess this is why the idea of Argyle's Ultras has raised worries in some quarters.

Dreadful stuff though. Truly horrific. I feel numbed just thinking about it.

Looks like the Police just stood by and watched. The Middle East is not somewhere I'd want to be travelling to anytime soon.

Reminds me of Millwall in 1967.

It's not football anymore in Egypt.. It's part of a civil war, and revolution that hasn't run it's course yet.
The whole Bosnian Croat Serbian thing first raised it's head again at football matches involving the like of Partisan Belgrade.

Yugoslavia's problems certainly hit the global stage when a Cup Final between Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) and Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) ended in a riot. I'm not suggesting that the Zagreb fans were angels but a fella named Arkan was a central figure who had been organising the Red Star Ultras for years. The same Arkan was used to supply an unofficial bootboy millitia by Serbian leaders to break few heads as required when the ethnic cleansing was still relatively covert. Zvonomir Boban became a Croatian hero for intervening as the police attacked Croatian fans. It's all on youtube should you care to look. It was soon after that Yugoslavia collapsed into open warfare.

Let's just hope that this was only a football riot that got out of hand and that Egypt doesn't go down the same route that Yugoslavia did.

Seems the majority of deaths were people getting trampled in a stampede to get out of the stadium.

SFD - Could you find a link for me? Cheers

Shocking scenes in Egypt, never nice to see.

They said on the Beeb this morning that supporters of President Mubarak (?sp.) were thought to be involved, I hesitate to mention that unless I am being used in a political chess game, what a mess.

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Chilling stuff.

This piece claims that the stadium doors were welded shut meaning that there was no possible escape. Horrific.

Just finished reading it, very interesting, whilst at the same time, quite sick.

Thanks very much.

Thats absolutely horrific and somebody should be charged over the deaths.

It's a very sick and broken world that we live in at the moment. I'm not sure there's much more to say really except that such events provide a sense of perspective sometimes.

There was a BBC World Service programme all about this and it is now available as a podcast.

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And as a listen again for a few days.

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I've just listened to it. I'm stunned. That's one of the best radio broadcasts that I have ever heard.

The whole region wont have any sability for years, libya egypt syria.
Question is though who (in the west) stands to gain from all this ?

GregCampbellFanClub wrote:

The whole region wont have any sability for years, libya egypt syria.
Question is though who (in the west) stands to gain from all this ?

Chris Webb?

I am sure that we (the West) have been very, very busy in the Arab Spring.

The trial is over.

21 fans from the Port Said team have been sentenced to death. Needless to say they are rioting in Port Said and, so far 2 policemen are believed to have been killed.

In Cairo, where Al Ahly come from, there is huge celebration.

Egypt has a bumpy road to follow for a while yet.

I'm not sure making an example of 21 fans with the death penalty is a particularly good way of going about stabilising things.

The country will soon be an Islamic republic hell hole. Then they'll wish they never overthrew Mubarak.

Would like to see some of that lot up against Forza Merde though

Greenskin wrote:

Reminds me of Millwall in 1967.

Not quite Greenskin........I don't remember dozens of dead ....if you are referring to Argyle's 2-1 win at the Old Den in January of that year.

I can remember keeping a low profile leaving the ground but that was all....but to jest about the appalling scenes in Egypt is not required or appropiate.

Horrific.

No wonder the French are getting into Mali, revolution & counter revolution for years to come.