Expats blame hired hooligans

Dubai: Egyptians living in the UAE have accused what they describe as ‘hooligans hired to destabilise Egypt's safety and stability' of being behind Wednesday's tragedy that caused 74 deaths and 1,000 injuries among football lovers.

A number of Egyptians in Dubai said football thugs had been hired to commit the national catastrophe, to create the mess and to convey a worldwide message that instability and insecurity would remain prevalent in Egypt.

Nasser Hashim, a law firm owner, accused supporters of the former President Hosni Mubarak's National Party of being behind what he called a ‘national disgrace'.

"The National Party's devotees were playing behind the scenes and they had a hidden message behind what happened… they intended to destabilise the country and create an impression that Egypt is not safe or stable. They intended to knock off the current financial stability, particularly because Wednesday's incident caused a loss of 12 billion Egyptian pounds (Dh7.3 billion) in the stock market early [yesterday] morning," said Hashim, a father-of-three.

He was shocked as to why Al Masri fans, who were heading toward a first-of-its-kind victory against Al Ahli, would replace such a "triumph with a national scandal and catastrophe".

Mohammad Al Khatib, a member of the Egyptian Business Council in the UAE, expressed his strong fury at what he saw and described as "an unprecedented tragedy in the history of football".

‘Conveying a message'

"I am a football enthusiast and constantly watch games… but what I saw on Wednesday night was so outrageous. This has never happened before. The fans of Al Masri Club do have a history in hooliganism, but not to that ghastly level. There were strong indicators that the rioters were nothing but hired hooligans, and what happened on that catastrophic night was thought out and premeditated. It wasn't related to football, but someone was conveying a message that there won't be state of security and stability in Egypt," said Al Khatib, who is also a senior partner in a law firm.

Describing what happened as a hidden message, 41-year-old Al Khatib asked why Al Masri fans would throw away a historic victory against Al Ahli [last year's champions].

"I was surprised to see the Al Masri Club's fans reacting in this way… evidently those hired hooligans aimed at creating a state of insecurity in Egypt," he said.