The deadliest stadium disaster in Egyptian history, killing 74 people and prompting a two-year suspension of the domestic football league.
Key Facts
- Deaths
- 74 people
- Injured
- More than 500 people
- Defendants charged
- 73 people
- Sentenced to death
- 11 defendants
- League suspension
- 2 years
- Match result
- Al Masry 3–1 Al Ahly
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
On 1 February 2012, following a 3–1 Egyptian Premier League victory by Al Masry over Al Ahly at Port Said Stadium, thousands of Al Masry supporters invaded the pitch. Al Ahly fans were attacked with clubs, stones, machetes, knives, bottles, and fireworks, while police reportedly refused to open stadium gates, trapping fans and triggering a deadly stampede.
The riot resulted in 74 deaths and more than 500 injuries. Al Ahly supporters were cornered in their partition of the stadium with no means of escape. Civil unrest and clashes with police subsequently broke out in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez in response to the perceived failure of authorities to protect fans.
Seventy-three defendants, including nine police officers and two Al-Masry club officials, were charged. By 2017 the Court of Cassation upheld convictions resulting in 11 death sentences. The Egyptian government suspended the domestic football league for two years, affecting the national team's activities and drawing international attention to stadium safety and police accountability in Egypt.
Political Outcome
73 defendants charged; 11 sentenced to death, others given prison terms; sentences upheld by Court of Cassation in 2017; domestic league suspended for two years by the Egyptian government.