The death toll from the riots in Port-Said is sitting at 74, and dozens were injured during the game Wednesday night in Cairo. Riot followed the match between al-Masri, the team at Port Said at home, and popular Al-Ahly, based in Cairo.
It was the deadliest football-related violence since 1996. Many victims were crushed to death, the other with a knife or suffocated after a long corridor in a trap, trying to escape rival fans carrying clubs, knives and stones.
CTV Middle East Bureau Chief Martin Seemungal said that the government started throwing blame around.
"This is a very sad day for Egypt and decided three days of mourning to acknowledge what happened yesterday," said Seemungal CTV in Canada AM. Egyptian activists accuse the police and soldiers standing while the violence occurred, refusing to intervene. In fact, the video of disorder appears to show police seized as violence ensued.
Seemungal said the officers may have even been ordered not to intervene.
"It is important to note here is the history of football violence in Egypt. Fans of both clubs, in particular, has a long history of violence and in fact have a history of taking on the police, who have historically been associated with the Mubarak regime," he said. On Thursday morning, dozens of angry demonstrators blocked the Tahrir Square in central Cairo, while others blocked the street in front of the Egyptian state television, "in protest against the authorities' handling of unrest in the country.
Chaos on Wednesday began when supporters of al-Masri, stormed the field after their team wins rare victory over Al Ahly.
Fans of the winning team, armed with knives, sticks and stones, and then went to the players and fans of Al-Ahly, their opponent, who ran for the exits and in the pits, in a desperate attempt to S 'escape.
Gaffar Ahmed, one of Al-Ahly fans visiting the stadium, said: "population" were blocked, "suffocating inside a narrow corridor," as they tried to leave the scene. "People get stuck on one another, because no other exists," Ghaffar tweeted on Thursday. "We had two options, either death, behind, or closed doors".
By Ghaffar al-Masri, the fans rushed the field, and police stood. Power then went to the stadium, and chaos. "We were surprised that the police are allowed in this facility. Rooms are huge," he said.
Al-Ahly fans who tried to escape were in a long series of, with a locked door to the stadium.
Mohammed Mosleh, a fan of Al-Masri, wrote on Facebook, that he saw "gangsters with weapons for" participation in a stage where the police presence was thin. "It was unbelievable," he said. "We had to celebrate, do not kill people. We won the Al-Ahly, something I've seen only twice in my life. All the people were happy. Nobody expected that."
In addition to accusations that they have done little to stop the riots, the police were also accused of not watching a lot of fans before the game, and allows them to bring weapons into the stadium. Ministry of Interior 74 people died, including one policeman, and 248 were injured, including 14 policemen.
Local Health First said thousands of people were injured, but it was unclear how seriously they were injured.
Security forces have arrested 47 people from violence, the statement said.
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