Egyptian soccer matches foreshadow mass anti-government protest
By James M. Dorsey
Controversial soccer matches this weekend constitute a
potential walk-up to a watershed mass anti-government demonstration on June 30 that
has Egyptians of all political stripes bracing themselves for political
violence and increased uncertainty
The soccer matches and mounting tension in advance of the
protest are likely to be seen by militant, highly politicized, violence-prone
and street battle-hardened soccer fans as an opportunity to demonstrate their sustained
mettle and resolve. The fans, one of Egypt’s largest civic groups, played a key
role in the toppling two years ago of President Hosni Mubarak 2.5 years ago and
opposition to the military and the Muslim Brotherhood-led government since.
Concern about clashes at the matches and the protest has
also sparked debate within the security forces and the military, who are widely
held responsible for the deaths of some 900 protesters since the ousting of Mr.
Mubarak, on how to deal with potential soccer-related violence as well as the
planned protest.
The interior ministry, which controls the police and
security forces, initially opposed allowing Egyptian league matches to proceed
because of threats by soccer fans to storm stadiums in protest against a ban on
spectators. The ministry feared that clashes with fans would add to already
mounting tension in advance of June 30. In an about face however, the ministry
late this week said it would permit the games to be played on Saturday and
Sunday instead of on Thursday and Friday as originally scheduled.
Security forces are nevertheless bracing for renewed clashes
with fans that in the past two years have left thousands injured and scores
dead. Fans have been largely banned from matches ever since the league resumed
in February after a year-long suspension in the wake of the deaths of 74
supporters last year in a politically loaded brawl in Port Said.
"We are giving you 48 hours; we are giving you a chance
to stop suppressing and provoking us. Either we return to the stands or … you will
know what will happen soon,” the Ultras White Knights (UWK), the militant
support group of storied Cairo club Al Zamalek SC, warned this week in a
statement.
Mr. Morsi’s Brotherhood spotlighted the importance of soccer
and the role of the militant fans in football-crazy Egypt earlier this month by
announcing that it would field candidates for the board elections of Zamalek and
other major football teams in what many see as a bid to control the politically
significant sport.
Attempts by soccer fans to gain access to stadiums this
weekend could be a foretaste of what may happen on June 30, the first
anniversary of Mohammed Morsi’s inauguration as Egypt’s first freely-elected
post-revolt leader. Ad hoc group Tamarud (Rebel) hopes to commemorate his
anniversary with a million-man march on the presidential palace. Tamarud has
reportedly collected 15 million signatures, two million more than the 13
million votes the president garnered a year ago, on a petition demanding Mr.
Morsi’s resignation and new elections.
The petition that a significant number of militant soccer
fans are believed to have signed, takes Mr. Morsi to task for his failure to
tackle the country’s economic crisis, dispel fears that he is pursuing an
Islamist agenda, and his haughty style of government that many see as a
continuation of Mubarak’s authoritarianism. It calls on the military and the
judiciary in violation of the constitution to lead the country to new
elections. Youth groups and soccer fans see Tamarud’s mobilization success and the
June 30 march as an opportunity to reinvigorate their movement and launch a
second revolution.
Fears of violence have been fuelled by attacks by Morsi
supporters on Tamarud representatives as they publicly collected signatures on
street corners and other public spaces. Supporters and opponents of Mr. Morsi
clashed for hours last week in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.
To ensure the authenticity of its petition, Tamarud has
insisted that signatories identify themselves and register their identity
document. Irrespective of whether or not the soccer matches and the June 30
march produce the kind of violence that could shift Egypt’s political paradigm,
they indicate just how deeply divided Egypt is and the degree of lack of
confidence in Mr. Morsi among a significant segment of the population.
Concern that violence could prevail was reinforced by some
Islamist groups calling for counter demonstrations on June 30 as well as the
expectation that soccer fans and the Black Bloc, a vigilante group founded by
militant soccer enthusiasts, will act as a protective and potentially provocative
force during the anti-government march. Attempts by cooler heads within Mr.
Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups to avert what could prove
to be a game-changing outpour of anger against the government by reaching out
to opposition groups have so far failed.
The mounting tension has further thrown the spotlight on Mr.
Morsi’s troubled relationship with the security forces witness the interior
ministry’s dithering on the soccer matches as well as an initial statement that
police would stay away from the Tamarud demonstration that was later withdrawn.
Security officials fear that the police, which is widely despised because of
its enforcement of repression in the Mubarak era and its subsequent at times
deadly clashes with protesters, will be seen as being supportive of a Morsi
government it distrusts if it comes to clashes with protesters this weekend and
on June 30.
Hossam Ghali, the captain of crowned Zamalek rival Al Ahli
SC, reflected Egyptians’ worries about where there country is heading by
deciding this week to postpone a decision on whether to extend his contract
until after the June 30 march. "I'm now considering leaving Egypt because
of the ongoing political turmoil, which is seriously affecting Egyptian football.
It will be difficult to continue in Egypt under such circumstances," Al
Ahli’s website quoted him as saying.
James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam
School of International Studies, co-director of the University of Würzburg’s
Institute of Fan Culture, and the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East
Soccer blog.
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