What happened at Port Said on Wednesday was not football. It was war. Humankind’s worst form of tribal loyalties was on display as fans of Al-Masry, a soccer team based in that Egyptian city, went on the rampage to celebrate its victory over Cairo-based Al-Ahly.
The match itself may have been another sporting version of David beating Goliath, but what took place afterwards was mayhem of the kind no one ever wants to see, least of all people living in a country in transition — moving from dictatorship to modern democracy after the memorable non-violent revolution in Cairo’s Tahrir Square last year.
The toll is 74, from deaths caused by crushing or suffocation in the latest instance of hooliganism triggered by sporting rivalry. It is the curse of the beautiful game of football that it should be the vehicle for such mindless violence based on sporting triumphs and disasters. Unfortunately, the game became an excuse for unleashing of pent-up feelings while Egypt is grappling with a whole new problem — a total lack of security in a state in transition in which even policemen are refusing to return to work. The country’s new Cabinet moved troops to Port Said to keep the stadium violence from spreading to the streets after football fans known as Ultras battled it out on the pitch and in the stadium. Money-minded officials are said to have suspended matches while teams are pulling out altogether from the league. It is doubly sad when sport becomes the medium for such bloodletting.