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The Egyptian Football Tragedy

The Egyptian Football Tragedy

Riot police at Port Said stadium (Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images)

At a time when all of the continent’s and indeed the world’s sporting attentions should be focused on the African Cup of Nations being played in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon instead they have to look away toward Egypt where unimaginable tragedy has struck. Scores have died and hundreds have been injured in a clash between rival fans at a match in Port Said. Even as al-Masri beat Cairo’s al-Ahly 3-1 fans went on the rampage. But this was not mere football violence. It is increasingly clear that members of the police and military not only were unable to stop the violence, but many may have been complicit in it. Egypt has declared three days of national mourning.

Tensions between fans coupled with inadequate and indifferent security make for a volatile mix. Add to that the already unstable situation in Egypt and the implications of the events in Port Said ring all the louder.

 

Author

Derek Catsam

Derek Catsam is a Professor of history and Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He is also Senior Research Associate at Rhodes University. Derek writes about race and politics in the United States and Africa, sports, and terrorism. He is currently working on books on bus boycotts in the United States and South Africa in the 1940s and 1950s and on the 1981 South African Springbok rugby team's tour to the US. He is the author of three books, dozens of scholarly articles and reviews, and has published widely on current affairs in African, American, and European publications. He has lived, worked, and travelled extensively throughout southern Africa. He writes about politics, sports, travel, pop culture, and just about anything else that comes to mind.

Areas of Focus:
Africa; Zimbabwe; South Africa; Apartheid

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