CAIRO - At the headquarters of Al-Ahly club Friday, scores of the club soccer players received condolences for the martyrs killed in the massacre of Port Said, which claimed the lives of more than 74 Ahly fans. They will gather from 4 pm to 9 pm daily until Sunday. Hassan Hamdi, Al-Ahly club president, disclosed that the players asked the club board to give a percentage of their annual income to the martyrs and those injured in Port Said. Egypt's Football Association (EFA) said it was indefinitely postponing all Premier League matches. Al-Ahly is suspending all sports activities and declared three days of mourning, starting on Friday. "What has happened is the worst sports catastrophe in Egypt's history," Hamdi said at a press conference. He added that it was impossible to imagine that a fan would go to a match to support his club and never return home. "We will not forget these martyrs, this was the black Wednesday in the history of the country," Hamdi stressed, pointing out that the club would do everything it could to put the guilty on trial. Hamdi added that the club asked the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to deal with the victims of the match the same way as with the martyrs of the revolution, and equally provide help for the injured. Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim sacked the security chief of Port Said, Essam Samak, because of the rioting that erupted on Wednesday. Seconds after the final whistle of a match between two rival teams, hell broke loose. Police said that around 47 people got arrested and investigations would continue. The violence that erupted after the match was one of the deadliest incidents in the history of soccer all over the world. It saw thousands of supporters of the Port Said team Al-Masry invade the pitch and attack fans of Cairo's Al-Ahly, hurling bottles and rocks. Hamdi added that the players were traumatised. "They lived through nightmarish scenes when so many fans died in front of them," Hamdi said.
