CAIRO: Citing security concerns, Egypt's interior ministry said that Egypt's domestic football league will not be resuming this August. The announcement is likely to be a disappointment to millions of Egyptians who regularly cram cafes and stadiums to watch their clubs battle it out on the pitch. “I am very disappointed. If we can't have security at a stadium, can we have security anywhere,” avid football fan Mohamed Anwar told Bikyamasr.com on Sunday evening, lamenting that there haven't been any matches to watch recently. 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 was to change in August after the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced earlier this month that it would resume the league. 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. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen and the ministry put the axe to hopes that the league would begin. 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. BN
