Ultras Ahlawy will storm Egypt's Super Cup match

Ahmed Abd El Rasoul , Saturday 8 Sep 2012

A group of Ahly’s hardcore supporters call for fans to storm the next match to protest against the lack progress in prosecuting those responsible for the Port Said massacre

Ultras Ahlawy
Egyptian waves Al Ahly soccer team flag during a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt's ruling generals have a new enemy in the legions of angry soccer fans who have injected fervor into protests demanding the military step down and battled for days with police in the streets of Cairo., 2,Feb, 2012 (Photo: AP)

Ahly’s die-hard fans (Ultras Ahlawy) have invited its members throughout all the country's governorates to travel to Alexandria to storm Sunday's Egypt Super Cup closed-door Ahly v ENPPI match.

Ahly playmaker and one of Egypt's most revered football stars, Mohamed Abou-Treika, has decided to forego Sunday’s match to support the demands of the team’s hardcore fans to seek justice for the Port Said "martyrs," i.e. the 70+ fans who died in attacks during a game in a stadium.

"We had said that football activity won't start up until the perpetrators of February’s Port Said disaster are brought to justice," Ultras Ahlawy said on their official Facebook page earlier on Saturday.

"If we have been patient seven months after the disaster, every one of us is now ready to die to stop Sunday's match.

"The victims' families are invited as well as everyone who believes justice has not yet been served," added the statement.

The group wants football suspension to remain in place until the perpetrators of February’s Port Said disaster are brought to justice.

A number of Masry fans and security officials are currently facing trial on charges of premeditated murder and negligence, respectively, after Port Said fans allegedly invaded the pitch, attacking Ahly fans and people dying in the chaos in Egypt’s worst-ever football tragedy on 1 February.

The angry fans stormed Ahly’s training ground earlier this week, holding aloft banners rebuking their own players for agreeing to play in Sunday’s season curtain-raiser, the first competitive match to be played in local competitions since the Port Said disaster.

They stirred further controversy after invading the EFA headquarters on Wednesday and threatened to escalate their protests if their demands were not met.

They listed six demands that included the resignation of Ahly’s board of directors, whom they believe has not done enough to pressure authorities into punishing the culprits of the Port Said disaster.

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