Riots at Cairo stadium after football fans invade pitch

[News_Editor]

Riots at Cairo stadium after football fans invade pitch

2011-04-03 04:51:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO (BNO NEWS) -- Thousands of football fans stormed the pitch at a Cairo stadium as security personnel rushed to protect the referee and the linesmen after a goal was disallowed, Ahram online reported.

The incident happened during a match between Egypt's Zamalek and Tunisia's Club Africain, which was called off in stoppage time after the fans invaded the pitch.

Angry hooligans threw stones and damaged the goal's posts after the Egyptian team had a goal disallowed for offside. Reports at Cairo Stadium said some players were injured amid the chaos.

The Egyptian team led 2-1 but were on the verge of elimination from the African Champions League preliminary round after failing to overturn the 4-2 first-leg deficit. Club African is expected to be awarded victory and Zamalek is likely to face sanctions from the Confederation of African Football.

Zamalek chairman Galal Ibrahim apologized to Tunisian side Club Africain after the incident.

"We deeply regret the ugly scenes we saw today. I apologized to the Tunisian delegation for what happened," Ibrahim told Ahram Online.

Ibrahim also said he was concerned the incident might have dire consequences on Zamalek's future in African competitions.

The Egyptian Premier League was scheduled to resume 15 April but the incident could throw that into doubt.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-04-03

[TimTang]

This is NEWS? The Islamic countries have been rioting for 1400 years. If an infidel even looks at a muslim the wrong way they go into a frenzy and the next thing you know they're rioting in the streets. Then when the dust settles there's always a handful of dead bodies left behind.

A real NEWS headline would be "The 57 Islamic states went an entire day without a single riot, experts are stunned!"

[Steely Dan]

Perhaps the middle east should stick to sports less likely to inflame emotions; football is essentially tribal and will only magnify existing rivalries. Perhaps croquet or crown green bowling would be a safer option.