Cairo (CNN) — Horrified eyewitnesses described how Egyptian police officers stood by as violent clashes between rival fans at a football match in the northeastern city of Port Said left scores dead.
Hundreds of supporters of clubs Al-Ahly and Al-Masry were critically injured in the attacks and as they tried to flee. The violence is one of the world’s worst sporting disasters and prompted officials to suspend indefinitely Egypt’s football premier league.
The attacks started out of sight of television cameras in the stadium’s hallways and terraces. When the referee blew the final whistle, thousands of Al-Masry home team fans stormed the pitch despite their team’s hard-fought 3-1 victory.
Police conscripts then stood by as rival fans attacked each other with rocks and chairs. “The police did nothing to stop it,” Amr Khamis, an Ahly supporter told CNN at the train station in Cairo after returning from the match.