Egyptians of the Ultras, a group of avid politicized soccer fans, block the roads on 6th of October bridge in Cairo, Egypt Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 (Photo: AP)
Members of Ultras Ahlawy, the hardcore supporters of Cairo club Ahly, have threatened "death" to those they hold responsible for the Port Said disaster.
Saturday 26 January – the day a court will deliver its verdict on defendants accused of playing a role in the disaster – will be "the last days in the lives of some people," the Ultras said via a statement on its official Facebook page.
Seventy-three defendants, including nine security officials, three Masry football club officials and a number of fans, are on trial for their suspected role in the murder of 74 Ahly fans in February 2012.
"One year on from one of the worst massacres in sports history, after one year of marches, strikes and the tears of mothers that have not yet been dried, 72 families have been destroyed by a corrupt regime, 72 families of young people whose only crime was to chant against a regime that does not know the value of life," the statement added.
The Ultras urged all those who believe that "blood is not cheap," to gather at the Police Academy in New Cairo, where the trial is taking place, at 8am on Saturday.
Egypt's worst-ever football tragedy left 74 Ahly football fans dead after they were attacked by Masry fans at a match in the Port Said Stadium on 1 February 2012.
Thousands of Ultras fans have been organisining mass protests acroos Egypt to prepare for a show of force on Saturday at the court in Cairo.
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