Fan violence in football can pave the way for devastating consequences sometimes and this was exactly what happened in Egypt last night. At least 73 people were killed after Al-Masry defeated Al-Ahly 3-1 at the Cairo stadium with more than 1,000 injured in the stampede. Tragically, most of the casualties were completely innocent, including fans who had fallen off the dangerous terraces and members of the security staff. Amigos and Asdiqaa (friends), this is an absolute tragedy in football.
Historically, Al-Ahly have always been a fan favourite (i.e. Egypt’s answer to Man United) but clearly, their loss wasn’t handled so well. We could say ‘violence is not the answer!’ for the next one thousand years, but it would be to no effect. To make sense of what has happened, we must consider the country’s social and political position in a broader context.
Also, the Egyptian league has announced that “halted all league play indefinitely” and “may cancel the entire season,” which is the right thing to do. Meanwhile FIFA needs to send an investigative team to find out what went wrong and look at the installation of nets (i.e. La Bombonera stadium in Argentina) which will block sections of the stands from the pitch.
