Interesting piece at the Jerusalem Post on the Egyptian football riots:
For the ultras, as for many politicians and ordinary Egyptians, the anger was not that soccer fans clashed but that security forces appeared to have done little to stop them...
"Today, the Marshal and the remnants of the regime send us a clear message. We either have our freedom or they punish us and execute us for participating in a revolution against tyranny," the group said in the statement, quickly circulated online.
Residents of Port Said, as well as some politicians and ultras themselves, feel the group was the target.
"Ultras are very popular and respected among the revolutionaries," said 45-year-old Port Said trader Ahmed Badr.
"The ultras were the target (on Wednesday). This was a setup for them, a massacre. The military council and the security forces are the only parties held accountable for such events."
Ultras employed years of experience dealing with police at matches to devastating effect against Mubarak's security forces when they used heavy-handed tactics to try to crush the revolt...
Daring cat-and-mouse tactics by ultras, often teenagers or men in their early 20s, and steadfastness at front-line barricades under tear gas and rubber bullets wore the police down until they cracked. Within days of the anti-Mubarak uprising erupting, the police were replaced by the army.
Since then, ultras have stayed at the battle-front, scuffling with the army and police, in the upsurges of violence since Mubarak's downfall in and around Tahrir, where protesters have demanded the army hand over power immediately to civilians.
[...]
An army statement announced three days of national mourning.
Ultras Al Ahli responded with a statement on one of their Facebook pages saying that mourning should not be just for the dead but "for everyone who lost his morals, mourning for everyone who sold his soul, mourning for everyone who did not care for the country."
The violence flared on Wednesday after Al Ahli fans unfurled banners insulting Port Said's al-Masry. One man went onto the pitch carrying an iron bar at the end of the match, which al-Masry won 3-1. Al-Masry fans reacted by pouring onto the pitch and attacking Ahli players before attacking fans on the terraces. The police appeared to have no ability to stop it.
"For the first time in the history of matches between these two teams, we did not find police officers or state security. Police withdraw from the stadium and yes, your plot is as clear to us as daylight," the UTS group said in its statement.
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