The week has been eventful regarding sport. England are currently involved in a crazy Test match against Pakistan, the Six Nations has kicked off and an exciting line-up for the Olympic velodrome test event was announced. Then there was the world of football which had the January transfer window slam shut and the England captain lose his title. All these stories could have been the focal point for this post. I am instead going to talk about the tragic events that unfolded in Egypt on Wednesday, where 74 people were killed during tragic scenes that unfolded following a football game in Port Said.
Now you may argue that this is me mixing politics with sport; a relationship that does not always turn out for the best. However, I believe the scenes that unfolded are ones that need to be discussed, where the blame does not necessarily need to be attached to a particular person or persons, but reasoning needs to try and be uncovered as to why the events occurred and why the scene was at a sporting venue.
From the information I have digested regarding the situation, I believe the riots were already pre-meditated and not a result of the events that unfolded out of the football pitch. Al-Ahly Ultras have a reputation for causing disruptive and violent behaviour and if the reports are correct regarding them bringing knives into the stadium, then this belief is well supported. Additionally, Al-Ahly fans were considered supporters of the now ousted President Mubarak, and subsequently should have been searched vehemently on their arrival to the ground. Instead, the police, perhaps out of worry, concern or attempting to prevent temperatures and feelings rising, appear to have provided less tight security than usual. The result has led to a disaster, another one in recent times in Africa, which is scarily becoming home to far more often than other areas of the football fraternity. England is scarred by the incidents at Hillsborough and Heysel and thankfully now appears to be a safer environment for individuals to go to games. This is why when incidents do happen on the British Isles nowadays, a media frenzy escalates and clubs act quickly to clamp down on offenders as people hope that the days of hooliganism are not going to return.
Now had Al-Ahly won, would the trouble have still occurred? I would argue yes, because as previously mentioned, I think the violence was pre-meditated and certainly bringing knives into the ground supports this. I do think the actions of the shameful supporters though would have been more minor though, had their side been victorious. Reports suggested the supporters attacked members of their own team when they invaded the pitch. How that is a positive, productive and useful act by alleged ‘fans’, I do not know. However, in the heat of the attack, people are easily swayed by the opinions of the majority. How often in England do we see only a few people invade a pitch at the end of the season, before everyone else in the stand realises it is a worthwhile idea? In Egypt, maybe the same happened, supporters saw others remonstrate with their players and decided to offer their views as well. By the time, they arrived on the field of play, the anarchy had started and they were swept into it, potentially just to survive themselves.
There needs to be a concern though for those individuals who were on the field of play, with no awareness of the levels of security imposed in the lead up to the game. Fundamentally, they have been attacked for no reason what-so-ever, and therefore, you can completely understand why some of them wish to quit the game for good. If their lives are at risk whilst they perform their jobs, then is there any reason to carry on? You may argue that there could be violence in any sectors of life, and this is correct, but a football game has clearly been identified because of the high-profile nature it holds.
So what were the security forces doing? Where were the police? Firstly, they have allowed many individuals to enter the stadium possessing dangerous weapons. These are implements that if found on an individual entering a sporting arena in England, would probably lead to them being arrested and questioned instantly. Then when the invasion began, instead of trying to quell the surge, as is their responsibility, the authorities just stood back. Were they hoping for violence? Are there still too many supporters of Mubarak within the higher levels of the police that they wanted the chaotic scenes to occur? Other than being severely outnumbered, why else would television pictures demonstrate riot police just standing and watching the events unfold instead of intervening? The public, particularly the innocent individuals who were attacked and killed, along with the players who were solely there to play a football game have been incandescently let-down by the authorities and I imagine many fingers of blame will revolve around them in the aftermath and investigation of this tragedy.
What we must remember though, is that 74 people lost their lives in this tragedy. 74 people did not come home to their loved ones. They had gone to watch a football game, to be entertained by their team. They should have come home. Violence should and needs to be eradicated. It certainly should not be necessary for political leverage, whilst using a sporting arena to cause such scenes of carnage is despicable, particularly when there is an awareness of the presence of so many innocent people. Sport has once again been damaged by the actions of others who are clearly not real fans of the game. I had hoped that tragic footballing disasters had become a thing of the past, unfortunately Egypt has proven that you should never rest easy on your laurels.
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