The Port Said Soccer Riot Is Just One More Chapter in the Revolution
Much is now surfacing about Wednesday’s riot at the Port Said football stadium in northern Egypt, including allegations that stadium security provoked fan violence, perhaps in response to last year’s Arab Spring and the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak. In the wake of the riot, the head of the Egyptian FA has been sacked, and the governor of Port Said has resigned.
The Egyptian parliament opened with a moment of silence this morning, and Speaker Mohamed Saad al-Katatni said the riots were the “work of the devil” and that Egypt’s revolution “was in danger,” according to this BBC report. To the former charge, I would think that the devil, if he exists (he doesn’t), has bigger fish to fry (wouldn’t you?), and to the latter, one might ask: in danger of what?
The report also stated that Egypt’s public prosecutor has ordered the questioning of 52 people arrested after the riots. The governor of Port Said and the head of security are also to be questioned. All Egyptian premier league matches have been postponed indefinitely.
I’m not for a moment going to pretend that I am familiar with the intricacies of the Egyptian soccer world, nor am I going to weigh in (yet) about the acts, alleged or otherwise, of security, police, State officials, players, or fans. There is still just too much dust left to settle before a picture with any discernible clarity emerges.
What is (or should be) apparent is that Egypt’s revolution is not over. Mubarak may be gone, but many of the old problems—corruption, factionalized vigilante-ism, latent cultural/religious sectarian strife, etc.—still remain and, in fact, have only been exacerbated by this period of turmoil. Again, I don’t know enough detail to comment on this turmoil with any credibility, but here’s a good place to start, if you’re so inclined as to do some preliminary research on your own.
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