CAIRO: No matches have been played in Egypt's national football league since a February 1 riot left at least 75 people dead in Port Said after fans attacked an opposing squad's supporters. That is to change in August after the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced on Thursday that it would resume the league in August. The EFA's spokesman, Azmy Megahed, told The Associated Press that the league would begin playing matches on August 24 if the government approves new security measures at the stadiums around the country. Egypt's interior ministry has said it would like to see video cameras and metal detectors installed at stadiums to help ensure a repeat of the Port Said riot does not happen again. Ironically, fans and witnesses at the violent attack said police and security personnel stood by and allowed the violence to spiral out of control, even locking fans inside and barring them from leaving the stadium. Fans were thrown off the top level of the stadium, knifed and clubbed to death as video of security forces showed that they stood inside and failed to intervene in the violence.
