A soccer match in Egypt turned violent as the supporters of both the teams clashed in a free for all round at the stadium. Public voiced strong dissent, over military’s inept handling.

Egypt witnessed the worst tragedy by soccer fans on Thursday, at the Mediterranean city of Port Said. The event disrupted even though local team al-Masry beat visitors from Cairo, Al Ahli, Egypt's most successful club. The post-match pitch invasion provoked panic among the crowd as rival fans fought killed over seventy and left several injured at the stadium. Most of the deaths were among people who were trampled in the crush of the panicking crowd or who fell or were thrown from terraces, witnesses and health workers said. There is a history of fierce rivalry between the two soccer teams’ Al-Masry and Al-Ahli. A part of the stadium was burnt by the miscreants.

Public made an outcry of depreciating military rule after the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. Even TV footage showed some security officers showing no signs of stopping the pitch-evasion at the stadium. One particular officer was busy on his mobile.

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The military leaders were thoroughly for lack of security by the public and the politicians alike. But the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that dominates parliament, saw an "invisible" hand at work. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, 76, who heads the ruling military council, took an unusual step of speaking by telephone to a television channel, the sport broadcaster owned by Al Ahli club, vowing to track down the culprits. The army announced three days of national mourning. Parliament will hold an emergency session later on Thursday to discuss the violence.                                            (With inputs from Internet-AarKay)