74 dead in riot after football match in Egypt

Riots that broke out after a football match in northern Egypt left at least 74 people dead, the Health Ministry said.

About 1,000 people were injured Wednesday when fans of the home side, al-Masri, stormed the field seconds after their side won the match 3-1 in Port Said and attacked players from the visiting Cairo based al-Ahli team.

Those caught up in the violence accused police of standing by while the mayhem erupted around them.

Those killed were trampled or smothered, and some of them were security officers, officials said.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter called it “a black day for football” while an al-Ahli doctor told the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, “This is war, not football.” The win for al-Masri was a rare one against al-Ahali, a top football team in the country that had long gone undefeated