First court session of 17 Ultras Ahlawy members postponed

CAIRO – 10 March 2018: The Nile Palace Court of the State of Emergency postponed on Saturday the first court session of 17 members of "Ultras Ahlawy" to April 14, accusing them of crowding in front of Al-Ahly Club.

The prosecution referred 17 members of "Ultras Ahlawy" to the Court of Misdemeanors of Qasr El Nil, on charges of crowding in front of Al-Ahly Club with force, stealing of a wireless device from a police officer under duress, possession of explosives and knives.

According to investigations, the suspects were arrested after they tried to break into Al-Ahly club’s Al-Gazeera branch in the Zamalek area to attend a handball match.

When is a good time for fans to return to stadiums?

CAIRO - 8 March 2018: The return of unlimited stadium access for fans across Egypt is being discussed with concern as it is rendered problematic after violence erupted at the Cairo Stadium this week.

Ultras fans have been associated with a cycle of violence since the outbreak of the January 25 Revolution in 2011. Members of both the Ultras White Knights and Ultras Ahlawy were handed prison sentences over charges of inciting violence and protesting against security forces. They were also engaged in clashes with the police.

A ban was imposed on fans attending matches since the deadly clashes that took place in February 2012, which killed dozens of fans in Port Said. Later demands to overturn the decision were only met on a limited scope.


El-Ahly's Fans Celebrating after winning the African champions League 2005 CC Wikimedia

Fans are banned from domestic matches, but permitted to attend Egyptian teams’ games in African competitions and national team games in the World Cup and African Cup of Nations’ qualifiers.

In order to stop any potential violence, security authorities should approve the location of domestic matches and the number of fans attending.

Additional reporting Nourhan Magdi