The Alexandria Security Directorate said it would be unable to secure football matches at Borg al-Arab Stadium, after the interior and sports ministers made the decision to hold the first match of the Egyptian Super Cup there on Sunday, according to a report in the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper.
No final decision on the match had been made as of Thursday night.
Khaled Gharaba, head of the security directorate, has demanded that Egyptian Super Cup games — all of which are scheduled to be played at the Alexandria stadium — be called off, fearing a repeat of recent sports-related violence. The Ultras Ahlawy, a group Ahly Club supporters, stormed the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo Wednesday. They were protesting the league’s decision to resume play before the perpetrators of a deadly stadium riot in Port Said this February are judged in court.
Football association matches have been delayed since the Port Said Stadium violence, which left 74 dead and hundreds injured. Security bodies still worry that the threat of fans storming stadiums will make games difficult to secure.
Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin and Sports Minister Al-Emary Farouq held an emergency meeting with club representatives Thursday to discuss the directorate’s stance on securing the games.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
