Talk > Sports Chat > [Soccer] Are most pro soccer fans nutcase animals??

Seventy-three people were killed and at least 1,000 injured Wednesday when Egyptian soccer fans staged a pitch invasion in the city of Port Said, in what a deputy minister called the biggest disaster in the nation's soccer history.

Violence at football matches across north Africa has increased significantly since political unrest began sweeping the region more than a year ago, and one player described Wednesday's riot as "a war, not football."

The violence flared after a match between Port Said team al-Masry and Cairo's Al Ahli, one of Egypt's most successful clubs - whose fans have a history of fierce rivalry.

Witnesses said fighting began after Ahli fans unfurled banners insulting Port Said and one descended to the pitch carrying an iron bar at the end of the match, which al-Masry won 3-1. Al-Masry fans reacted by pouring onto the pitch and attacking Ahli players before turning to the terraces to attack rival supporters

Most of the deaths were among people who were trampled in the crush of the panicking crowd or who fell from terraces, witnesses and health workers said.

Many fans died in a subsequent stampede, while some were flung off their seats onto the pitch and were killed by the fall. Meanwhile, rioting fans fired flares straight into the stands.

Another match in Cairo was halted by the referee after receiving news of the violence in Port Said, prompting fans to set parts of the stadium on fire, television footage showed.