Among The Thugs: Al-Masry Fans Bear the Brunt of the Blame for Port Said Tragedy

The real culprits behind the tragedy at Al-Masry's Port Said Stadium on Feb. 1, 2012 are the Al-Masry fans. (image source: telegraph.co.uk)

There’s a lot of chatter in the mainstream media about the tragedy in Port Said, Egypt. A lot of it is misguided. And those who give voice to claims that the events were somehow politically motivated are bordering on irresponsible.

True, Al-Ahly Sports Club does have a fanatical group of supporters who became politicized during the revolution last year. But to assume that, because they were the targets of this violence, the fans of Al-Masry Sporting Club must have been politically motivated is a leap into the Hollywood realm.

Al-Ahly are the reigning champs, with 36 titles during the 51 seasons the Egyptian Premier League has been contested, more than triple the number won by their closest competitor and crosstown archrival, Zamalek SC. Al-Masry are a popular but mid-table team, always staying in the EPL but never winning a title. So for them to upset Al-Ahly, the best team in the league, is a big coup. But that doesn’t mean it’s part of any coup. They won, went nuts, and got ugly.

Al-Masry SC

To suggest that this was somehow a plot by the country’s military, to payback the Al-Ahly supporters for protests last year, makes a better movie plot than sense. Even in today’s Egypt, if the military seeks retribution against a handful of revolutionary leaders, there are far easier, less intricate, and more certain ways to solve that problem. Besides, many of the dead and injured were security forces.

Interestingly, in Western societies, we tend to blame things like food additives, poor parenting, and television when people go apeshit. In the Middle East, the scapegoat for personal fuckscapades seems to be the government – their’s or our’s. The one thing we have in common these days is the shunning of responsibility for one’s own actions.

Here’s who is really to blame for the Port Said tragedy, in order of fading responsibility:

1) The Al-Masry fans. They alone committed these crimes. No one enticed them to sprint across the field and attack the relatively small group of Al-Ahly supporters who travelled from Cairo to watch the game. The Egyptian football federation should ban them from all matches for the rest of the season. And the government should force them to wear burkas in public until they man-up for their actions. Shameful hooligans!

2) The Al-Masry Sporting Club. It is their responsibility to ensure the safety of players and spectators. Clearly they failed to do so. Inspections at the gate, abundant security cameras, moats, and other precautions have proven successful elsewhere.

3) The local police and stadium security personnel. If you dress a cop up in riot gear, typically he is itching to bash someone’s head in. Apparently that’s not the case in Egypt, unless you are in Tahrir Square. These clowns just stood around and watched. Shameful. And if you think that someone gave them orders not to intervene, then why even have them around the pitch in the first place? And if they were somehow complicit, then why did so many of them end up dead or wounded? Yes, they could – and should – have done better, but blaming the cops for the actions of criminals is foolish.

4) The Egyptian football federation. For failing to mandate stricter security measures for its clubs.

And a word for Westerners who might think that this is typical of “Arabs” or “Muslims.” This sort of behavior is relatively new to the Middle East and North Africa. Fans rioting and going on rampages has historically been a European phenomenon, often orchestrated by right-wing Christian types who tend to hate Muslims and people from Africa and the Middle East in general.

This isn’t a sporting jihad. If anything, it’s a Westernization of the sport. Hopefully Egypt and other nations will learn from this tragedy and implement the kind of reforms that brought a happier and healthier – and far more profitable – stadium experience to most nations in Europe.

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Additional Commentary
Former USMNT coach Bob Bradley, now coach of the Egytpian national team, marched in the streets – along with his wife – to condemn the violence and mourn the fallen. Many are still trying to paint this as a grand conspiracy orchestrated by Egypt’s military-led government. And when I read about members of the Egyptian parliment, like the one from the Musilim Brotherhood quoted in The New York Times, making such claims in an effort to advance their own political agenda, I’m tempted to wonder if this might be a consipracy of a different nature, perhaps orchestrated by political extremists to discredit the current government. It’s equally plausible, and equally unsubstantiated.

In response to a story posted in LinkedIn’s FC Business forum, which claimed that this soccer riot was not in fact a soccer riot, I felt compelled to chime in. Not because I have any affection for the current Egyptian government, nor do I have any desire to hang a cloud over our beloved sport by emphasizing that this is indeed an ugly part of the game. I did so simply because I believe that accountability is neccessary to ensure that changes will be made that will hopefully prevent such horrendous bloodshed int he future. Perhaps FIFA will even step in and do some good for a change, mandating that all sanctioned leagues implement basic security and safety measures.

With that said, building on the article above, below is my response to the claims that this was not a soccer riot but some sort of grand conspiracy:

Everyone loves a good conspiracy. Many are claiming that this riot at a soccer game was not in fact a riot at a soccer game. No, clearly, or so they claim, this was a grand conspiracy by Al-Masry fans, stadium officials, and the local police/security forces on the grounds – all pawns of sinister generals who lead the government. Perhaps as retribution for the role Al-Ahly ultras played in last year’s revolution. Or, tapping the latest rationale, to drum up public support for a stronger military/police presence. And, no, I’m not even going to comment on claims that this was somehow a plot by Israel (please, give that a rest).

Sure, any of these theories are possible. But it seems a ridiculously complex and risky way to achieve such things. I know things have improved somewhat in Egypt, but I imagine the military can still drop the hammer on its enemies in far more discreet, targeted, and effective ways.

The simplest explanation, and the most obvious one, was that Al-Masry fans rioted, security personnel failed to do their job, and things turned very ugly very quickly. Tragic, but it happens – far too often in our sport. And lacking any evidence of the aforementioned conspiracies, plus the rather odd venue and timing for such an orchestrated and public display of violence, makes it hard to believe otherwise.

Some have pointed to the fact that Al-Masry won the game, arguing that fans don’t riot when they win. But that’s not accurate. In fact, celebratory riots are quite common here in the United States. Much to everyone’s dismay, every few years some fans of some sports team celebrate some victory by torching cars, smashing shop windows, and tossing rocks at police. Even more strange is that they often do this in their own hometown.

The lack of action by security personnel in the stadium is as puzzling as it is appalling. Yes, one could speculate that they were given orders not to intervene, but then who would have expected there would be a reason to intervene? There was not a particularly bitter rivalry between the two clubs. This was not the Al-Ahly vs. Zamalek derby. Besides, if the plan was for them to stand by, why even have them out there in the first place?

And if you want to find some sinister explanation, don’t look to the military-led government but rather the local security forces. Before last year’s fixture, Al-Ahly fans were reported to have gotten in scuffles with local law enforcement outside the stadium.

More likely, though, the security personnel on-hand Wednesday night were completely unprepared for this, and quickly overwhelmed. That and they may have been poorly trained and lacked effective leadership. There have been a few mass pitch invasions in Egypt in recent years, but none ever turned as violent as this.

Still, whatever the cause, the security forces should most certainly be held accountable for their inaction. It was inexcusable. But to place the brunt of the blame on them, as many reports seem to have done, is like blaming the police for the actions of criminals. The security forces should be held accountable for their inaction, but let’s not overlook those who acted – and most heinously.

And one of the things that few conspiracists address is the fact that several of those killed and injured were members of the security forces. Perhaps that’s because it blows a hole in the grand conspiracy because, if this was a premeditated attack carried out by government stooges, then why would they attack their own forces?

As for the lights, locked gates, and other bizarre actions that contributed to the magnitude of the tragedy, this is more likely due to inadequate training and flawed policies on behalf of Al-Masry SC and its stadium staff. If you are going to question these things, you also need to question why there wasn’t better security at the gates, more video surveillance around the grounds, and more substantial barriers separating fans from the pitch and one another.

If the Egyptian Football Federation had in place the kinds of policies that the English Premier League does for stadiums and security, it’s less likely that such a tragedy would have occurred, or at least not of that magnitude. And one of the reasons I opted to write about this in my blog and chime in on LinkedIn is because blaming the Egyptian government may make for a more exciting news story (not to mention advance certain political agendas), but holding those directly accountable for the events that happened is more likely to ensure that adequate steps are taken to help prevent such tragedies from happening in the future.

I am by no means claiming that Egypt’s military-led government are a bunch of angels. But to assume that this is a government conspiracy simply because it occurred in Egypt is a big assumption. If this had happened elsewhere, it would simply be seen as a horrendously tragic soccer riot. Which, lacking any evidence to the contrary, is what it appears to be.