Cairo, Feb 9 (IANS) Egyptian authorities Monday suspended national football league matches indefinitely following the death of 22 people in Cairo.
Supporters of football club Zamalek were crushed after police fired tear gas at them while they were trying to force their way in for a match against city rivals ENPPI, reports BBC.
“Suddenly the security forces began firing tear gas and birdshot all over the place,” a witness said.
According to another man, around 50 fans started piling on top of each other.
“We were carrying people away to save them getting trampled to death,” he said.
The fans blamed the authorities for opening only a single gate.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the leaders of the Zamalek supporters group. Despite the violence, the match went ahead.
Three years ago in a similar incident, 70 fans were killed in a riot at a stadium in Port Said. Limits were placed on the numbers attending matches thereafter. Those restrictions were, however, lifted some weeks ago.