A Parliament-appointed fact-finding panel has blamed Port Said stadium officials and security authorities for violence at a football match on 1 February that left at least 74 football fans dead and hundreds injured, a panel source told Al-Masry Al-Youm. Egypt's lower house of Parliament, the People's Assembly, will discuss the panel's findings today, Sunday. A Premier League match between Port Said's Masry and Cairo's Ahly teams had a bloody ending when Masry fans swarmed the pitch and supporters of the visiting team were attacked. The Interior Ministry has received the largest share of blame after a number of videos and eyewitness accounts proved that security forces stood idle during the violence. Many activists and MPs called for the removal of Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim following the incident. The panel's report accused Port Said security of delinquency and negligence and said injuries among police personnel did not exceed 10, which, it argued, proves security did not respond to the attacks, according to the source. The panel has concluded that stadium officials became partners in the crime by switching off the stadium's lights, playing loud music through speakers to cover up the massacre, and closing exits, the source said. It said the Egyptian Football Association, whose board was dismissed after the violence, was also responsible, being the organizer of the competitions and having the authority to cancel the game for security reasons. The source told Al-Masry Al-Youm that a recommendation might be made to forbid Masry from playing in Port Said for two years. The source also said a mixture of Masry supporters and outlaws attacked the Ahly fans and that some members of hardcore groups of football fans, known as ultras, planned the attack in advance. But the panel report says that only blaming thugs for the violence is dangerous, the source added. It demanded that prosecutors investigate former members of the Hosni Mubarak regime, whom some suspect plotted the violence. On Thursday, Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud imposed a travel ban on three officials from the now-dissolved National Democratic Party as part of the investigations. The report also calls for confronting the violent mentality that it says dominates ultras groups. In the past year, ultras have proved to be politically engaged. They have played a crucial role in anti-regime protests during and since the 25 January uprising. Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
