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Egypt court bans soccer fan groups as "terrorists"

Xinhua, May 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

An Egyptian court banned on Saturday soccer fan groups in the country and designated them as "terrorist groups," the Egyptian state TV reported.

The Court of Urgent Matters accepted the appeal of the head of popular Zamalek Club, Mortada Mansour, to blacklist the "ultras" groups nationwide as terrorists and ban all of their activities.

A similar court has previously ruled lack of jurisdiction concerning Mansour's lawsuit but the Zamalek chief appealed the ruling and the football fan groups have been designated as terrorist groups.

Mansour provided documents and videos regarding involvement of the ultras in acts of riot and vandalism, including storming the Egyptian Football Federation headquarters, breaking into Zamalek Club and injuring some of its employees.

Football matches in the most populous Arab country have been played without fans over the past three years, since at least 74 people killed in February 2012, mostly fans of Ahly Club, in clashes and riots after a match at coastal port Said city.

Three years later, in February 2015, the authorities agreed to try a premier league match with limited number of fans for the first time since the 2012 tragedy, in a match between domestic teams of Zamalek and ENPPI.

However, the trial turned out to be a failure as at least 22 were killed even before the game started, mostly Zamalek fans, in a stampede and clashes with the police who allegedly forced them to enter the stadium through a metal cage-like narrow passage and fired tear gas bombs to contain their riots.

Later in February, the government agreed to resume the suspended league matches from March but, as usual, without fans. Endit