Report: At Least 40 Fans Killed In Stampede At Egyptian Soccer Game (Video)

Professional soccer in Egypt has ground to a halt once again amid unspeakable tragedy.

At least 40 soccer fans died during and after a stampede at an Egypt Premier League game between Zamalek and ENPPI on Sunday, Al Jazeera reports. Clashes between fans, many of them Zamalek supporters, and police took place in between barricades outside of Air Defense Stadium in suburban Cairo. Police fired tear gas into the caged area, sparking a deadly stampede. Egypt has suspended the Premier League in the aftermath of the incident.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry blamed Zamalek fans for the violence, but the White Knights (a Zamalek supporters group) say police recklessness and brutality caused the stampede, according to The Associated Press. One witness described the scene in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“The police were in front and behind the gate,” the witness said. “They fired tear gas. This caused panic and people fell on top of each other. We started to leave quickly. There were old people in the crowd, and they were crushed by other fans.”

The latest Egyptian soccer stampede occurred almost three years to the day after 74 fans of Cairo’s Al Ahly were killed during a game in the port city of Al Masry. Hundreds more were injured in the violence, which still stands as one of the deadliest soccer riots in recorded history.

Egyptian officials banned league games for two years and prohibited fans from attending games following the 2012 incident. They only lifted the ban last week.

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