CAIRO: At least one protester in Egypt's Port Said city was shot dead on Friday night as fans of the local club team clashed with security forces after the club was banned for two seasons. One eyewitness told Bikyamasr.com that “it was really chaos and scary as the guns were heard. I thought we all were going to be killed.” The banning of the al-Masry club team for two years comes after its fans on February 1 stormed the field following a 3-1 victory against giants al-Ahly and attacked the opposing fans with clubs, knives and batons, killing at least 75 people that day, sparking clashes for the next week across the country. The event also saw security forces stand on the sidelines as the violence began, not intervening to stop the fans from attacking. Also, they were reported to have locked the gates so fleeing fans could not escape. Eyewitnesses said fans even threw others from the top of the stadium. The association said the Port Said stadium would be closed for three years. Earlier this month, the association cancelled the Egyptian Premier League for the rest of the season. 75 people, including 9policemen, are to go on trial over the deadly violence, including three al-Masry club officials. Opposition activists accused the ruling military council of having orchestrated the deaths, allegedly to prolong its stay in power. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/vylHG Tags: Clashes, Death, featured, Football, Masry, Port Said, Security Section: Egypt, Egyptian Sport, Latest News
