17 Ultras Ahlawy members were released Friday on bail, following a clash with security forces outside the Borg-Al Arab stadium in Alexandria last Tuesday. The court ordered a bail of EGP 20,000 for each of 12 detainees, while the remaining five had to provide proof of residence in order to be released. Charges include allegedly assaulting three police officers, three conscripts, and damaging a police car after the fans were banned from attending a match against ASEC Mimosas. This is not the first time Ultras members had been detained while entering a football match. On 20 April, more than 300 fans, both members and non-members of Ultras, were randomly arrested and taken into custody. The majority were released within a few hours, and no charges were leveled against any of the detainees. All this falls under the precautionary measures taken by police to prevent rallies or clashes from occuring within stadiums. The relationship between the law enforcement and Ultras has been strained ever since 2011, when Ultras Ahlawy got political by physically confronting police in the uprising that overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak. The tension stiffened in 2012, when a riot at a match between Al-Ahly and Al-Masry fans left 74 dead and 500 injured. Ultras would go on to claim the Ministry of Interior coordinated the chaos and let it transpire, which the office has since denied. Ultras members were banned from atttending matches in 2011 after being accused in Egyptian courts of forming "terrorist groups".
