Fires engulfed the Egyptian soccer federation headquarters and a police club after riots broke out in Cairo Saturday over a court decision acquitting seven police officers and confirming the sentencing of 21 soccer fans to death for charges stemming from the nation's deadliest soccer riot, the Associated Press reports.
The chaos erupted after the verdict for the remaining 52 defendant was read during a live television broadcast. Judge Sobhi Abdel-Maguid sentenced 45 defendants, including two cops, to jail but acquitted seven other police officers.
The decision didn't sit well with Egyptian soccer fans who point the blame at police for the 74 deaths that were reported after a violent soccer riot in the city of Port Said in February 2012 between soccer clubs Al-Ahly and Al-Masry. In late January, a judge sentenced 21 people to death over the incident leading to a riot in Port Said that left 40 people dead.
Port Said, a Mediterranean city at the end of the Suez Canal, is one of the several major cities in Egypt where protesters have taken to the street to demonstrate against the nation's recently elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. The soccer trial has added to the political turmoil and to maintain peace the local police were replaced by Egyptian military forces, reports say.
Reports say rioting soccer fans attempted to disrupt travel through the Suez Canal, a busy waterway for cargo ships, but were pushed back by the military. Train travel to Port said has also been stopped by officials who are concerned about passenger safety, reports say.
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