Clashes erupted Tuesday evening between members of the Ultras Ahlawy, a group of hardcore football fans who support Cairo’s Ahly football team, and anonymous people who rejected their protest in downtown Cairo.
Dozens of Ultras Ahlawy staged a protest at the Journalists Syndicate Tuesday evening after marching from the Ahly Club in Zamalek.
Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that the clashes erupted after a quarrel between a kiosk owner outside the syndicate and ultras, which escalated into a fight with knives and rubber bullets.
State-owned Al-Ahram newspaper said on its website that gunshots were heard but it reported no injuries. Al-Masry Al-Youm said that birdshots were fired during the clashes.
The ultras reportedly withdrew after around 30 of their members were injured by stones and rubber bullets. The Health Ministry reported that six people sustained injuries in the clashes.
The protesters reportedly headed back to the Ahly Club to continue their demonstration.
Protesters demanded a speedy trial for those accused of inciting and perpetrating the violence in the Port Said football stadium on 1 February following a match between Ahly and the home team, Masry. Seventy-four people were killed and hundreds were injured when Masry fans stormed the pitch and the visiting team’s stands.
One Monday, the Port Said Criminal Court postponed the trial to 25 August.
Kareem Rahim, one of the protest organizers, stressed that those killed in the Port Said violence are “martyrs,” not mere victims or thugs.
During the protest, the ultras chanted slogans against the club’s administration, specifically the head of the club, Hassan Hamdy. They say the club has let its fans down.
Some Ultras Ahlawy broke into the team’s training session last week and held banners slamming the team’s administration and its players for how they dealt with the Port Said issue.
Ahly’s administration held a news conference Monday that a few of the martyrs’ families attended. Hamdy launched an attack on the Ultras Ahlawy during the presser.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
