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Ahly players honor Port Said victims ahead of Masry clash Ahly face Masry for the first time since the Port Said tragedy that left more than 17 Ahly fans dead back in February 2012
Ahly players honored the victims of Egypt's worst-ever football disaster before meeting Masry in the Egyptian Premier League on Saturday. The Masry - Ahly encounter, which took place in the Red Sea resort of El-Gouna, is the first meeting between the bitter rivals since the Port Said tragedy that left more than 70 hardcore Ahly fans dead back in February 2012. Minutes before kick-off, the Cairo giants' players lifted a black banner to honour the victims. The banner read "our martyrs are a badge of honour on our chests". They also wore an undershirt that bore the number 74. Ahly were supposed to face Masry on 20 December, only for the fixture to be delayed by the Egyptian Football Association to 3 January at the request of the interior ministry. It was further delayed to 10 January for security reasons. The reason behind the postponement was believed to be the fear of a potential escalation of tensions, as the date of the match was set to coincide with the verdict of the deadly Port Said disaster case. An initial verdict of the Port Said disaster that was issued in 2013 sentenced 21 defendants to death and five to life in prison. An Egyptian court ordered a retrial last year, enraging Ahly's main fan group (Ultras Ahlawy). Ahly are fourth in the league table with 27 points, seven points ahead of Masry who lie 13th. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSports on Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/119951.aspx