Developing: Pakistani Plane Escorted by UK Fighter Jets — 2 Men Arrested

Doc Thompson’s 24-hour radio marathon, ‘#24forok,’ continues until 9 am ET — Listen Live!

World

Egyptian Court Sentences Nearly 2 Dozen to Death for Soccer Violence — 27 Die in Subsequent Riots

Jan. 26, 2013 4:57pm
Egyptian Court Sentences Nearly 2 Dozen to Death for Soccer Violence 27 Die in Subsequent Riots in Port Said

An Egyptian protester flashes the victory sign during clashes with riot police, not seen, near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (Photo: AP)

(TheBlaze/AP) — Angry residents rampaged through an Egyptian port city in an assault that killed least 27 people Saturday after a judge sentenced nearly two dozen soccer fans to death for involvement in a deadly riot after a game last year.

The unrest was the latest in a bout of violence that has left a total of 38 people dead in two days, including 11 killed in clashes between police and protesters marking Friday’s second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

The violence in Port Said erupted after a judge sentenced 21 people to death in connection with the Feb. 1 soccer melee that killed 74 fans of the Cairo-based Al-Ahly team. Executions in Egypt are usually carried out by hanging, but must be approved by the Grand Mufti and finalized by the courts first.

Judge Sobhi Abdel-Maguid did not give his reasoning when he read out the verdicts for 21 out of the 73 defendants Saturday. The verdict for the remaining 52 defendants, including nine security officials, is scheduled to be delivered March 9. Some have been charged with murder and others with assisting the attackers.

Egyptian Court Sentences Nearly 2 Dozen to Death for Soccer Violence 27 Die in Subsequent Riots in Port Said

Relatives and friends of Egyptian protesters who were killed in Suez during clashes with riot police yesterday, load a body onto an ambulance outside the morgue in Suez on January 26, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Die-hard soccer fans from both teams, known as Ultras, hold the police at least partially responsible for February’s violence, which was the world’s worst soccer violence in 15 years, saying officers at the game did nothing to stop the bloodshed. They also criticize Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi for doing little to reform the police force or the judiciary since he took office in July.

It began last year when Al-Masry fans stormed the pitch after a game ended, attacking Cairo’s Al-Ahly fans.  Authorities subsequently shut off the stadium lights, plunging the area into darkness, causing the crowd to panic and push against the exit gate until it broke open. Many were crushed beneath the mob of people trying to escape.

But other survivors said it was simply bloodthirsty Al-Masry fans and lack of enough security that led to the deaths of their colleagues. While both sides blame police for failing to perform the usual searches for weapons, supporters of the teams seem divided over the ruling.  Al-Masry fans are outraged, while Al-Masry fans are exultant.

Immediately after Saturday’s verdict was read live on state TV, two policemen were shot dead outside Port Said’s main prison when angry relatives tried to storm the facility to free the defendants. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, as well as live rounds, at the crowd outside the prison.

Egyptian Court Sentences Nearly 2 Dozen to Death for Soccer Violence 27 Die in Subsequent Riots in Port Said

An Egyptian protester and fan of al-Masry football club waves a flare as others chant slogans during a demonstration in front of the prison in the Egyptian Suez Canal city of Port Said on January 25, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

In other parts of the city, residents tried to storm the governor’s office, police stations, the power station and the main court building. Residents occupied one police station in the east of Port Said.

The director of hospitals in Port Said, Dr. Abdel-Raham Farah, said two local soccer players were shot to death as they were seemingly on their way to practice. One was shot three times, the doctor said.

The military was deployed in Port Said to try to restore security, but assaults continued into the evening.  “The police are thugs!” yelled relatives of the deceased inside the courtroom before the judge took the bench.

Near Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where tens of thousands had amassed to mark the two-year anniversary a day earlier, Ultras Al-Ahly waved their team’s red flag as they clashed with police who fired tear gas to disburse the crowd near Cabinet headquarters and Parliament.

Anger is boiling in Port Said, where residents say they have been unfairly scapegoated.

“Our situation in Port Said is very grave because kids were taken from their homes for wearing green T-shirts,” he said, referring to the Al-Masry team color.

Fans of Al-Ahly, whose stands were attacked by rival club Al-Masry in the incident in Port Said, had promised more violence in the days leading up to the verdict if the death penalty was not handed down.

Egyptian Court Sentences Nearly 2 Dozen to Death for Soccer Violence 27 Die in Subsequent Riots in Port Said

Egyptian soccer fans of Al-Ahly club celebrate a court verdict that returned 21 death penalties in last years soccer violence inside the club premises in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (Photo: AP)

Before the judge could read out the names of the 21, families erupted in relief, yelling “Allahu Akbar!” Arabic for “God is great,” with their hands in the air and waving pictures of the deceased. One man fainted while others hugged one another. The judge smacked the bench several times to try to restore calm in the courtroom.

“This was necessary,” said Nour al-Sabah, whose 17-year-old son Ahmed Zakaria died in last year’s melee. “Now I want to see the guys when they are executed with my own eyes, just as they saw the murder of my son.”

Thousands of Al-Ahly fans gathered outside the Cairo sports club for the verdict, chanting against the police and the government.

“We are not really that happy,” Mohamed Ahmed, a survivor of the attack, said. “The government helped the Ultras of Port Said by blocking the gates of the stadium until people suffocated to death.

The AFP has video of the increasingly chaotic mob scene:

—-

Associated Press writer Mariam Rizk contributed to this report.

–

Related:

Benghazi, IRS, AP...What's next? Only TheBlaze TV offers the truth from Glenn Beck, Andrew Wilkow, and Real News from TheBlaze. Get instant access and a free trial here.

Comments (49)

1 2
  • searching for the Truth
    Posted on January 27, 2013 at 11:43am

    Oh yeah! Sports really works out fine for these guy’s – couldn’t you just introduce them to knife throwing ,since they are so accustomed to rocks ?

    Report this comment

    searching for the Truth  
  • wrazzlin1
    Posted on January 27, 2013 at 7:56am

    I’m seeing a pattern here. Biden’s double barrel shotgun has two rounds. A soccer game has two halves.
    This stinks of conspiracy to me. JUST SAYIN

    Report this comment

    wrazzlin1  
  • kcsparky
    Posted on January 27, 2013 at 1:02am

    This is an excellent example of the average intelligence level of this region of the world. They are dumb as rocks and will kill for nearly any reason. All of this over a stupid game that involves a ball and just their feet. Life is of little value in the muslim world. It is no wonder why individuals are so easily convinced to become suicide bombers or to brutally murder others with little to no thought of their actions! No brain, no pain, no sense, no feeling!!

    Report this comment

    kcsparky  
    • waspanglosaxon
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 4:38am

      Uh, beggin’ your pardon, but football and baseball fans act just as stupidly here. Just ask Brian Stowe, who was nearly nearly at a Dodgers game in L.A. 3 years ago or any of the other dozens of people who’ve been assaulted and battered by these dumb-ass ball games.
      I think the Egyptian courts should be congratulated for at least having the testicular fortitude to sentence some of these hooligans to death for the lives they’ve taken. Would that our own courts here in ZOG had the same kinda backbone (here, they’d probably be awarding huge sums of money to the rioters for having somehow violated their ‘civil rights’).

      waspanglosaxon  
  • mash4077
    Posted on January 27, 2013 at 12:19am

    the whole middle east region is crumbling into disarray and anarchy. Isreal is right in the middle of it. god forgives us, if we don’t help them and they go down.

    Report this comment

    mash4077  
  • cosmic dogma
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 11:00pm

    Religion of peace, strikes again.

    Report this comment

    cosmic dogma  
  • truelife
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 10:47pm

    Your are 100% percent right… This is not about soccer teams, this is about Shi’ite, VS Sunni… And my bet is that the Government sided with the Shi’ites, as they are the radicals who the Muslim Brotherhood supports… They are the ones who want to kill the little and great Satan, America and Israel.

    Report this comment

    truelife  
  • OUT THE REGRESSIVES
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 10:45pm

    Ah yes, the religion of pieces.

    Report this comment

    OUT THE REGRESSIVES  
  • Tankertony
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 10:40pm

    Barbarians will be barbarians……

    Report this comment

    Tankertony  
  • ALL4FREEDOM
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 10:29pm

    And now we’re giving these people F-16′s and tanks. Brilliant.

    Report this comment

    ALL4FREEDOM  
  • Advection
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 9:53pm

    Arabs.

    Report this comment

    Advection  
  • polnick
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 8:58pm

    The most affordable and largest prison colony ever established will be in the Sinai Desert it will make the Siberian Gulag seem like a pup tent. There will be no way out, on one side are Egyptian border guards and on the other side are Israel defense forces, each with orders to kill an escaping inmate. The Sinai prison colony is large enough to hold over one billion inmates, the hot sun will keep its inhabitants warm. The maintenance costs to taxpayers will be next to zero, only the costs of transporting the unwanted to their desert oasis.

    Report this comment

    polnick  
  • Pierre Montagne
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 8:17pm

    This article is avoiding what should be obvious
    This is violence of Moslem killing Moslem.
    Which team is Sunni and which team is Shiite
    The judge would not order death sentences on people form his own religious sect.
    In Egypt there is no such thing as a secular soccer player.
    This is also Islam you do not riot and kill those of your own sect.
    So the question remains which team is Sunni and which team is Shiite
    These are the two sects across the Mideast which resort to violence and killing of each other.
    Only naive westerners pretending Islam is not involved would accept the forgoing article as it is written.

    Report this comment

    Pierre Montagne  
  • woodyee
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 8:03pm

    “They also criticize Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi for doing little to reform the police force or the judiciary since he took office in July.”

    Bolshbeer – those were MORSI’s infiltrators instigating the mob, then, acting as witnesses, demanding publicly that Morsi reform the police force – replace them all with Morsi supporters.

    Then Morsi has total control of the cities. The military can only sit and watch, or ride full-force and toss Morsi out.

    Just speculatin’…

    Report this comment

    woodyee  
  • Pierre Montagne
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 8:00pm

    This article is avoiding the obvious
    Which team was Shiite and which team was Sunni? Soccer teams in Moslem nations do not blend adherents of the conflicting Islamic sects.
    The death sentences are about Moslems Killing Moslems
    This is Egypt, This is Islam, There is no such thing as a secular soccer playre. It is clear that the judge was not from the same religous sect as those he is ordering executed.
    Only a naive westerner could think that any of this violence occurred without religous motivation.

    Report this comment

    Pierre Montagne  
    • mash4077
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 12:24am

      absolutely. it’s a barbaric religion of hate and terror and madness.

      Report this comment

      mash4077  
  • Magyar
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 7:16pm

    Barbarians who have exactly what they voted for—- Little sympathy……

    Report this comment

    Magyar  
    • chips1
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 7:51pm

      The sentence of death is a bit harsh. It’s not like they were playing dodgeball.

      Report this comment

      chips1  
  • vandy
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 6:49pm

    Ahh Soccer, obviously the more civilized football.

    Report this comment

    vandy  
  • TJexcite
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 6:30pm

    Just wait until Soccer is banned by the Islamic court for it is deemed against Sharia. What is needed to show the people who they put in charge. A few public hangings for crimes against Sharia might just wake the people up to what Sharia really is and it is not handing out sandwiches as payment at protests that the Muslim Brotherhood does. Will a public execution of a woman with a shot to the head in a burka before a game. Even the public execution of the 20 sentenced in soccer stadium before a match is what is needed to wake the people up.

    Report this comment

    TJexcite  
  • Metallicat
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 6:10pm

    I think the author of this had as much trouble keeping the facts straight that it all got twisted into a knot,like my mind did trying to read it.

    Report this comment

    Metallicat  
  • barber2
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:26pm

    Yes. These people seem ready to embrace democracy and run a well functioning and peaceful society . ( I am being disgustedly sarcastic as these are the folks that were praised for their ” democratic” Arab Spring ?! The more I see of these men, the more I think I know why they had the totalitarian government they had because that is the only way to have law and order with these crazy idiots lose )

    Report this comment

    barber2  
  • MDECKER
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:20pm

    How long would it take, to take care of business in Egypt, if they held a soccer game ever day?

    Report this comment

    MDECKER  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:18pm

    And Obama is sending planes, tanks and God alone knows what other arms and money to this nation led by the radical terrorists of the Muslim Brotherhood. We need to impeach Obama now.

    Report this comment

    Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • barber2
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:27pm

      Wonder if Obama would like to attend an Egyptian soccer game ? He did give a nice speech over there !

      Report this comment

      barber2  
    • gyro
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:41pm

      red card obama

      Report this comment

      gyro  
  • Fubared
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:10pm

    Lalalalalalalala ack ack ehhhhh.

    Report this comment

    Fubared  
  • hogcandy
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:08pm

    So….let me get this right….the same government that wants to take my guns is selling these people 20 F-16′s and 130 Abrams tanks…..what do they need with F-16′s and tanks? To defend themselves because they live in a tough neighborhood???? Hmmmmm…….perhaps Mr. Mursi should be vetted by a mental health professional before being allowed to make the purchase….I’m just saying….

    Report this comment

    hogcandy  
  • thindime
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:04pm

    Why does the U.S. Administration actively support/not oppose the Muslim Brotherhood radicals? Such a lack of human respect and rights is becoming an affront to humanity. The UN is a figment of subordination.

    Report this comment

    thindime  
    • mash4077
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 12:30am

      let’s face it. our government is on the side of evil. I’m a veteran and it kills me to say this.

      Report this comment

      mash4077  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:02pm

    The headline might have been…..

    “Die-hard Soccer Fans Kill Easily”

    The-Monk  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:48pm

      Why are soccer fans so passionate about athletes most of whom would not give them the time of day outside providing signatures at staged events?

      People live vicariously through sports & movie stars, when the government keeps them down thru confiscatory taxes.

      Report this comment

      Walkabout  
    • GeorgieJo
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 7:10pm

      HOW LONG is their SOCCER SEASON?

      Report this comment

      GeorgieJo  
1 2

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love