| Port Said Stadium massacre | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 1 February 2012 | ||
| Location | Port Said Stadium, Port Said, Egypt 31°16′16″N 32°17′30″E / 31.27111°N 32.29167°E | ||
| Caused by |
| ||
| Methods | Local Al Masry fans outnumbered and attacked Al Ahly players and their fans with bottles, stones, and fireworks, stabbing them with knives and trapping them in the stands. | ||
| Resulted in | The riot causes 74 deaths in total (73 of which were fans, and 1 police officer), more than 500 injuries, as well as 73 arrests, 11 of which were death sentences.
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| Number | |||
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| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | 72 Al-Ahly fans, 1 Al-Masry fan, 1 police officer[1] | ||
| Injuries | 500+[1] | ||
| Arrested | 73 (47 convicted) ● 11 death sentences ● 10 fifteen-year sentences ● 9 ten-year sentences ● 16 five-year sentences ● 1 one-year sentence ● 26 acquitted | ||
On 1 February 2012, a massive riot occurred at Port Said Stadium in Port Said, Egypt, following an Egyptian Premier League football match between Al Masry and Al Ahly. Seventy-four people were killed and more than 500 injured after thousands of Al Masry fans stormed the stadium stands and the pitch following a 3–1 victory by their club and violently attacked Ahly fans, using clubs, stones, machetes, knives, bottles, and fireworks, trapping them inside the Al Ahly partition of the stadium.[1][2][3] Many of the deaths were due to police refusal to open the stadium gates, trapping the Ahly fans inside, leaving some to die, and others being killed in a stampede while trying to escape. Civil unrest and severe clashes continued until 11 February, but general strikes ended on 13 February.[citation needed] Riots erupted in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez. Police fired tear gas at protesters; thus, clashes erupted on the streets due to tear gas battles. Unrest calmed and ended on 13 February.
Seventy-three defendants, including nine police officers and two officials from Port Said's Al-Masry club, were charged in the aftermath of the riots. As of 15 November 2015[update], 26 defendants were acquitted, including seven police officers and an Al-Masry club official. Of the 47 convicted, 11 were sentenced to death, ten received 15-year prison terms, nine received 10-year sentences, sixteen received 5-year sentences, including two police officers and an Al-Masry club official, and one received a 1-year sentence. The Court of Cassation upheld the sentences on 20 February 2017.
As a result of the massacre, the Egyptian government shut down the domestic league for two years, which affected the Egyptian national team.[4]