The riots following the Al-Masry vs. Al-Ahly in Port Said, Egypt, are bad enough, with dozens killed and many many more injured following a pitch invasion. Reports from elsewhere suggested that worse was to come, with rumours that 74,000 seat Cairo Stadium had been set on fire when Zamalek fans protested the calling off of their home match against Al-Ismailiya in response to the violence. Fortunately, that’s apparently not the case. Cairo Stadium did indeed catch fire, but it appears to have been the result of a short-circuit than due to rioting, and the blaze has since been put out with no loss of life.
Al-Masry Vs. Al-Ahly Riots: Masry President Resigns; Cairo Stadium Fire Unrelated
That’s a far cry from the situation in Port Said, where at last count 73 people, including security staff, have died. The Egyptian Football Association has now confirmed that Al-Masry president Kamel Abu Ali has resigned over the disaster, but the entire association has some soul-searching to do over this - Egyptian football has a reputation for violence and they must now take significant steps to ensure something like this does not happen again. According to the BBC, the newly-elected Egyptian parliament will hold an emergency session over the rioting on Thursday.
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