It became known as The Battle of the Camel
- public outrage followed, and Mubarak quit
days later. The Egyptian Premier League was
halted for over two months, as the military
temporarily assumed power.
When domestic football finally resumed,
it was greeted by a more liberal approach to
policing inside stadiums, from authorities
mindful of how a hardline stance had failed
during the revolution. That new approach
brought other problems, though: a fortnight
before the league restarted, Zamalek were
trailing Club Africain of Tunisia in the African
Champions League when hundreds of fans
invaded the pitch, attacking several players
and destroying both goals. The match was
abandoned – some of Zamalek’s ultras were
later arrested, while others went into hiding.
Al Ahly, historically Egypt’s most successful
club, eventually bagged a seventh successive
league title that campaign – Al Mokawloon
finished last, despite Salah’s emergence. By
the time the 19-year-old forward made his
international bow later that September, the
national team had self-imploded as well –
shockingly, they’d lost to Niger and South
Africa in AFCON qualifying, the former even
before the bedlam of the revolution. When
they succumbed to Sierra Leone in Salah’s
first game, the holders’ hopes of reaching
the 2012 tournament were over.
Had the Pharoahs made it to the finals, the
country’s Premier League would have been
on hiatus during January and February 2012.
Instead, domestic football rumbled on, with
tragic consequences.THE DARKEST DAY
On February 1, the first anniversary of The
Battle of the Camel, Al Ahly travelled to face
Al Masry in Port Said, where the Suez Canal
meets the Mediterranean Sea. Not too long
beforehand, members of the Ultras Ahlawy
had taken part in demonstrations against
the new military regime. One of them lost
his life. Angry ultras responded with chants
against the regime at the next home game –
and then came the encounter at Al Masry.
Despite 1,200 Al Ahly fans making the trip,
security inside the 18,000-capacity Port Said
Stadium was pretty lax – before the match
had even begun, home supporters stormed
the pitch and forced kick-off to be delayed.
More pitch invasions followed as Al Masry,who trailed with 18 minutes remaining, made
the most of former Spurs midfielder Hossam
Ghaly’s red card to hit back and triumph 3-1.
At full-time, thousands of home supporters
scrambled onto the pitch, chasing Al Ahly’s
players before charging towards the away
section. Some launched stones, bottles and
fireworks; others wielded knives. Al Ahly fans
were assaulted, some fatally stabbed. When
many tried to escape, they were caught in
a deadly crush, after discovering that stadium
exits were locked.
“The police stood there watching, and the
ambulances arrived late,” revealed Mamdouh
Eid, executive manager of the Al Ahly fans’
committee. “I carried several dead supporters
in my arms.”
“From the beginning of the game, the fans
of the opposing team were allowed to fire
rockets and stones towards us without any
intervention,” explained the team’s assistant
coach Pedro Barny. “In the end, it turned into
a state of madness.”
Al Masry’s captain was adamant that the
attackers were not fans of his team. “A man
was arrested and said there were more than
600 people hired from outside Port Said,”
Karim Zekri told Comment Middle East. “At
half-time, some of the fans started coming
onto the pitch. I went to these people, and
to my shock they didn’t know who I was. They
shouted at me and tried to hurt me – how
could fans of the club not know the captain?
“As soon as the final whistle was blown,
the door of the stand was opened. Tell me,
who opened it? Where was all the security?
Then the floodlights were switched off – this
was one of the main causes of the disaster,
as people stamped on each other.”
The authorities insisted the riot hadn’t been
their fault. “There were organised groups that
provoked the police all through the match,”
said Mahmoud Mustapha, of the Suez Police.
“Our policemen tried to contain them, but
not engage with them.”
The Muslim Brotherhood – a key opposition
group during the revolution, recently voted in
as Egypt’s biggest party at parliamentary
elections as part of a coalition – claimed the
violence had been orchestrated by supporters
of former president Mubarak. Whatever the
truth, there was outrage across the country.
In Cairo, Zamalek’s match with Ismaily was
stopped when news of the disaster filtered
through, prompting fans to set part of the
stadium on fire. More riots erupted, both in
the capital and elsewhere.
Three Al Ahly players, Aboutrika included,
announced their retirements, later deciding
to return. The Egyptian Premier League was
suspended and eventually cancelled, denying
surprise leaders Haras El Hodoud a shot at
their first ever league crown. They’ve since
been relegated.
With no league matches to play, Salah went
on tour to Switzerland with Egypt Under-23s.
After impressing, he was invited to train at
Basel and signed a four-year deal.
The lack of domestic action only added to
the Egypt senior team’s problems. They didn’t
even make it to the group stage of qualifying
for the 2013 AFCON under coach Bob Bradley,FourFourTwo June 2022 43EGYPT