Port Said football fans wait anxiously to hear what action is to be taken against the city's team following the referral of 75 defendants to a criminal court for their alleged roles in Egypt's worst case of football violence, Ahmed Morsy reports The office of the prosecutor-general issued a statement Thursday saying that the defendants included the former Port Said security chief, General Essam Samak, eight police officers and three Port Said team officials. Samak has been suspended from his duties from the time when the incident occurred, while two minors were referred to a juvenile court. The defendants of fans face murder charges while the officers were accused of complicity in murder in Egypt's worst football-related violence. The statement said the attack on Al-Ahli fans was premeditated, and that the assailants had armed themselves in advance with knives, rocks and other weapons. It accused Al-Masri officials of knowing ahead of the game that some of their supporters planned to attack Al-Ahli's supporters. Many of the defendants now referred to criminal court were criminals known to the local police who were nonetheless allowed to enter the match even though many had no ticket and the stadium was already full to capacity. Not only were they not searched, the police failed to act when the pitch was invaded and Al-Ahli fans were assaulted. News that 75 people are facing charges related to the stadium deaths has been welcomed in Port Said. "The defendants should receive maximum sentences if they are found guilty. That at least might deter others," Salama Said, 60, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "The media may have tried to portray us as a city of thugs but in Port Said we are keen to see justice done." "As long as the culprits are jailed, then any action the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) takes against Al-Masri should be lenient. Al-Masri players had no role in the massacre and the club ought not to be relegated," Said added. Saber Fouad, a 35-year-old taxi driver, also warned against relegating Al-Masri to the second division. "We are waiting for EFA to announce sanctions. They can do anything except relegate our team," says Fouad. Should Al-Masri be relegated Fouad predicts large demonstrations in Port Said. On Friday, hundreds of Al-Masri diehard supporters stirred controversy when they lifted an Israeli flag. They have accused the authorities of favouring Al-Ahli in the investigations into events at the stadium. On Saturday Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri met with Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, head of the National Sports Council (NSC) Emad El-Bannani, Al-Ahli Chairman Hassan Hamdi and Egyptian Football Association (EFA) interim president Anwar Saleh. "Al-Masri will be punished within 10 days at most," El-Bannani said following the meeting. He added that El-Ganzouri had recommended any action against the club be neither lenient nor excessive. "We welcome efforts aimed at improving the relations between both sides," Sherif Ali, a shop assistant at a mall in Port Said, told the Weekly. "We have no objections to the prosecutor-general's decision. However, it needs to be recognised that some of the defendants may be innocent." Al-Ahli Ultras Facebook page describes the referral to trial of 75 defendants as a "step towards fulfilling the rights of the martyrs". Al-Ahli and Zamalek fans held a peaceful march that began at 9am on the day the prosecutor-general announced the referrals to trial. The march began at the Al-Ahli grounds in Gezira and continued to the prosecutor-general's downtown office. The two groups posted statements on their Facebook pages demanding a speedy trial for those responsible for the deaths. "We want the investigation results announced with full transparency. We won't let this disaster be forgotten," said Al-Ahli and White Knight Ultras in a joint statement. "We need detailed charges, not the wide- ranging, non specific accusation against all 75 defendants that has been made," said one Al-Ahli Ultras leader, speaking to the Weekly anonymously. He added that the Ultras "will not allow the case be dealt with in slow motion".
