Cairo (AFP)
Despite the failure of the Pharaohs in the round of 16 of the CAN, the Egyptian fans are proud to have honored, during the competition, the memory of the victims of deadly violence in the stadiums of the country after the revolt of 2011.
The scene was repeated during the matches of Egypt. In the 20th and 72nd minutes, hundreds of fans waved their phones, lit lamps, illuminating the stadium.
"It's our tradition to brandish our cell phones, the blood of the martyrs is not tied to supporting Al-Ahly or Zamalek," AFP Mostafa Atef, a fervent 19-year-old fan, told AFP. team jersey or posters of Mohamed Salah, country star and Liverpool.
The two rivals Cairo clubs, behemoths of continental football, remain associated with tragedies that still haunt the world of football in Egypt.
In February 2012, more than 70 people (between 72 and 74 according to the figures), mostly fans of Al-Ahly, are killed in clashes involving police at the stadium in Port Said, at the end of a match against the local Al-Masry team.
Known as the "Port Said Massacre", this is one of the deadliest episodes in football's history.
Three years later, 20 supporters of Zamalek are killed in a jostling in front of a stadium in Cairo under police fire.
- "It's a beautiful tribute" -
Mostafa Atef, from a poor neighborhood, attended Saturday his first international match, that of the elimination of the Pharaohs against South Africa. Being in the stands was of great importance to him, as the victims saluted in the 20th and 72nd minutes were about his age. "We honor these martyrs so that their memory remains," sums up the young man.
Since these dramas of 2012 and 2015, the matches of the local championship are played behind closed doors, with rare exceptions. Despite the promises of the authorities, the fans have never been able to return to the stands as they did before.
"Egypt is strong and safe now (...) but it is a beautiful tribute and we pray for the martyrs" says Islam Abdel Sadek, a commercial 30 years. "Of course, we will always turn on the lights," he promises.
In a tournament aimed at boosting Egypt's international image, President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi stressed that the organization of the CAN has primacy over the sportsman.
Under President Sissi, who succeeded Islamist Mohamed Morsi in 2014 before being re-elected last year in the absence of a serious opponent, the repressive policy has touched the football community and in the first place the fans banned from stadiums.
- Fear of the ultras -
In this context, CAN-2019 has emerged as a test for stadium attendance as local football is recovering from a period of unrest.
"The return of the fans to the stadiums has been a good thing for Egyptian football," said Ahmad Yousef, a reporter for the local football website King Fut.
It states, however, that the authorities have been selective in their management of the return of supporters in stadiums, by introducing an online registration system requiring a criminal record check.
"If, when the championship (Egyptian) restart after the CAN, the ultras return to the stadiums, it could cause new troubles," he added.
In recent years, these fanatical fan groups have been politically active. And the Ultras Red Devils Cairo club Al-Ahly and White Knights Zamalek, his rival in the capital, were caught in the repressive wave unleashed after the dismissal of Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Many netizens argue that the dozens of ultras still in prison illustrate the persistent fear of Egypt against this fringe of supporters.
? 2019 AFP