Egypt soccer federation HQ ablaze after Port Said verdict

Egyptian soccer fans have set fire to the country’s soccer association and a police club complex in Cairo following the announcement of a court ruling on last year’s soccer riot.

According to security sources, outraged soccer fans stormed a police officers’ club complex in the Egyptian capital and torched a number of its buildings on Saturday.

Reports indicated that other buildings in the complex had their windows smashed.

In a similar move, the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association was also set ablaze by protesters.

The wave of unrest comes hours after Cairo Criminal Court upheld the death sentence for 21 defendants in the 2012 Port Said soccer riot trial. The court also handed life sentences to five other defendants, gave 19 lesser jail terms and acquitted 28 others.

Firefighters were reportedly dispatched to put out the fires, which spread to nearby buildings.

Egypt’s state television also reported that several hundreds of soccer fans were making their way towards the Interior Ministry.

Since March 3, at least seven people have been killed and hundreds more wounded in the Suez Canal city of Port Said, which has been the scene of similar violent protests since January.

Protesters in Port Said are outraged that people from their city were found guilty of murdering the 74, who were killed in a riot that broke out in their town after their team Al-Masry defeated Cairo’s Al-Ahly 3-1 in a football match last year.

In January, a judge sentenced 21 local people to death for their roles in the February 1, 2012 riot, in which 1,000 people were also injured. Egyptians have criticized the verdict, describing it as politicized.

M.D