Editorial: Football fury Saturday, 04 February 2012 01:28

Not only the people and rulers of Egypt, football fans all over the world reacted with shock and horror on Wednesday night at the news that more than 70 people were killed in football riots in the Egyptian city of Port Said. Can football hooliganism descend to such a level? Were there more to those riots? How is it connected to the Egyptian revolution and the ongoing tussle between pro-democracy activists and the armed forces? These are some of the questions being asked.

The Port Said riots, which happened after a match between the country’s two top clubs Al Masry and Al Ahly,  are the world’s worst football incident in 15 years. An interior ministry official said 13,000 Al Masry fans stormed the field, attacking 1,200 Al-Ahly fans.

Egyptians are so outraged that protests are continuing all over Egypt against the inability of the police to prevent the violence.

The head of the ruling military council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, predictably, blamed the riots on people who are out “to destabilise Egypt” and promised strict punishment against the culprits. The Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s leading political party which is set to form a government once the elections are over, has found an “invisible planning” behind “this unjustified massacre”.

Despite these claims and counter-claims, one doesn’t have to be an expert on Egyptian affairs to understand what has happened. The scale of the riots and the huge death toll make it a huge security failure, for which the blame can be laid at the doorstep of whoever is responsible for providing security. The military council of Field Marshal Tantawi is supremely capable of securing a football match given the vast size of the army and police forces. But witnesses said the police remained spectators during the riots and their number was marginal compared to the huge number of fans at the stadium.

Football fans in Egypt are known for their anti-establishment behaviour and were in the frontline of the anti-Mubarak revolution. They are excited youth who fought against the army. This fact gives credence to reports that the police must have withdrawn during the riots to take revenge on the fans. The police could also be trying to show that security is guaranteed only during times of emergency and the withdrawal of the emergency can mean lawlessness.

The military needs to launch an independent probe into Wednesday’s incident and punish the guilty. It’s unlikely that officials at the top level are involved in a conspiracy, if there was one. So the military rulers should have no problem in investigating the matter.

The football clubs and fans in the country too need to learn their lessons from the unfortunate incidents.