Behind the violence at Port Said football match?

-Anil Narendra

The football match on Wednesday was unprecedented one in many ways. A match was played between local team Al-Masry and Al-Ahaly of Cairo at Port Said in Egypt. Al-Masry defeated Al-Ahaly by 3-1 following which supporters of both the teams clashed among themselves. As the match ended, Al-Masry fan stormed the field and let loose the violent outburst. Some of these fans fired flares and threw bottles injuring spectators and players. Eye witnesses say that there were chaos all over and not only the spectators but the players also started running here and there to save their lives. The violence erupted during the match claimed at least 74 lives, while more than a thousand people got injured. This was the most tragic incident in the history of sports in Egypt. It indicates that the political situation in Egypt is still quite explosive and it can result in violence at such a large scale during a normal football match. Is it just coincidence or a well thought of move to create such a violent situation? No doubt most of the deaths were the result of stampede, but there are reports of some people being stabbed. It appears that it was a conspiracy, which was planned before hand. The supporters of Al Masry attacked the Al Ahaly fans with knives and clubs. In fact, there appears to be no reason to attack the opposing team as they had already won the match by 3-1. Was it a pretence to create an atmosphere of opposition against the military rule in the country and incite new sparks, as after the match, the anger was directed at the military rule and the Police. The demonstrators are increasingly demanding to dethrone the military rulers. There are reports of three persons being killed in the latest clashes with Police in the Capital. Hundreds of persons have also been injured in these clashes. People are already dejected over the slow democratic reforms. The violence during the match has added fire to the ire of the public. People were demonstrating in front of the Home Ministry in Cairo, when the Army fired tear gas shells on them. Hundreds of people had taken to streets after the Friday prayers to stage mass protest and demonstration. A section of people considers it a conspiracy by Egyptian Army to divide the awam and the police purposefully did not try to control the riots. The supporters of Hosni Mubarak targeted the public and tried to avenge the deposition of Mubarak by the public. In fact, Hosni Mubarak was forcibly deposed, but the internal situation in Egypt has never been under control. There have been frequent clashes between Muslim Brotherhood, who have won the recent elections, and secular-minded people of Egypt. It appears that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Army are hand in gloves. This has filled the Egyptian people with the fear of imposition of military rule or Muslim Brotherhood's rule or any despotic rule. There is restlessness among people and Egypt is passing through a phase of instability. The football match incident was not a simple one; there appears to be a deep conspiracy behind it.