CAIRO – Egyptians ranging from soccer fans to lawmakers blamed the country’s military rulers for a bloody post-match riot Thursday as anger mounted over the failure of police to stop the violence when a narrow stadium exit turned into a death trap in a seaside city north of the capital.
A network of soccer fans known as Ultras vowed vengeance, accusing the police of intentionally letting rivals attack them because they have been at the forefront of protests over the past year, first against former leader Hosni Mubarak and now the military.
Thousands of protesters converged on Cairo’s Tahrir Square — the epicenter of the uprising that ousted Mubarak last year — carrying the red flag of the city’s Al-Ahly soccer club and the national banner. They then marched to the nearby Interior Ministry to protest the police inaction and call for retribution for the 74 people who died in the world’s worst soccer violence in 15 years.
The protesters raised flags of Al-Ahly and Zamalek, another top team with its own Ultras group, and Egyptian flags. Some held black banners reading: “Mourning.”
Survivors and witnesses described people falling from the bleachers and other scenes of chaos after as fans from the local Al-Masry
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