CAIRO: At least 60 people have been reported to have been injured as violent clashes erupted in Port Said, east of Egypt's capital Cairo, on Saturday following a court verdict that sentenced 21 people to death for their role in a football stadium massacre in February 2012, reporters on the scene are reporting. Around the prison where the defendants are being lodged, live gunfire is being heard as the injured are carried to local hospitals, which called on citizens to donate blood in order to give care to those injured in the violence. An Egyptian judge early morning Saturday sentenced 21 defendants for their role in the Port Said football massacre that left at least 75 people dead on February 1, 2012. The names of those sentenced for capital punishment have been sent to the Grand Mufti, who must approve the death sentence before it can be carried out. As the judge was announcing the verdict, cheers from the families of those killed in the violence reacted with cries as for them, justice is being served. No police or security officials were sentenced in today's ruling. A second verdict is scheduled for March 9. In Cairo, thousands of al-Ahly fans, or Ultras, many of whom were in Port Said during the massacre, waited at the club's headquarters for the verdict. When announced, they also let out a cheer of relief. One man in the Port Said court was shown on national television holding a picture of his son as tears ran down his face. The massacre left Egypt shocked as scenes of violence spread across televisions last February, leading to violent clashes in downtown Cairo after fans from the al-Ahly team accused the ministry of interior of culpability in allowing the violence in Port Said to take place. In February, following the violence in Port Said, thousands of fans, with the Ultras leading the way, took to the streets of downtown Cairo. They were attacked by the military and police forces, with tear gas flying in every direction, birdshot hitting the legs, faces and arms of the protesters. It was a defiant show of strength for the disillusioned fans who felt the security forces had stood by and allowed fans to attack one another – video emerged showing security forces standing idly in a tunnel as the violence persisted. It was not the first time the Ultras took to the streets in protest and support for democratic change, but this time in was noticeably about football and security. The days of clashes in downtown Cairo led to the end of the domestic league and the unending debate over the role of football in Egyptian society. On the walls of Mohamed Mahmoud Street and Mansour Street – the flashpoint of the battles in November and February, respectively – are graffiti remembering the “martyrs" who had been killed in Port Said. Star Egyptian forward Mohamed Abu Treika – arguably Egypt's most favored and popular player – was a huge supporter of the revolution, inspiring thousands of fans to take to the streets. Mahmoud Shenawy, one of the leaders of the February demonstrations, told Bikyanews.com that the Ultras are “fed up with the current situation." While he says they do not want to see a return to the violent days late last year and early this year, he argued that the return of the Egyptian league will be instrumental in giving Egyptians something to escape to, and removal of what he called the “Mubarak-era football policies." Many of the top officials at the clubs around the country had links with the former regime and that led to much tension between fans and the clubs following the January 2011 uprising. In many ways, the Port Said clashes were a direct result of this, said one football reporter with a major Arabic daily. “We saw the former regime really take an interest in football following the uprising because they saw it as a way to maintain their ties with power and money," the reporter said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to his position and contacts with clubs. “Still today, we see a lot of money within Egyptian football from the era of Mubarak and many of the officials are still the same. This has frustrated fans, understandably, because they were at the frontlines of protests many times," he said. While Egypt's financial earnings are largely secret, the EFA had been known to have links with the Mubarak family, notably Alaa Mubarak, one of Mubarak's sons, who had helped finance Egyptian football clubs, using what many believe was “corrupt money" acquired from his position as the president's son. BN
