Solved case
Port Said Stadium Riot (2012)
A riot after an Al Masry–Al Ahly football match at Port Said Stadium in Egypt on 1 February 2012 killed 74 people and injured more than 500, after Al Masry supporters invaded the pitch and stadium gates were not opened. Of 73 charged defendants, 47 were convicted, including 11 sentenced to death; Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld the death sentences on 20 February 2017.
On 1 February 2012, a riot broke out at Port Said Stadium in Port Said, Egypt, after an Egyptian Premier League match in which home club Al Masry defeated Al Ahly 3–1. After the final whistle, thousands of Al Masry supporters invaded the pitch and attacked Al Ahly fans and players with clubs, stones, machetes, knives, bottles, and fireworks, trapping Al Ahly supporters inside their section of the stadium. Witnesses said police did little to stop the attackers and refused to open locked stadium gates, and many of the deaths resulted from a stampede as fans tried to escape through the closed gates. Seventy-four people were killed and more than 500 were injured; the Egyptian deputy health minister called it the biggest disaster in the country's football history, in comments quoted by the BBC. An Egyptian health ministry official said stab wounds, brain hemorrhages, and concussions caused the deaths. The Egyptian army airlifted soldiers by helicopter to rescue Al Ahly players, who were trapped in their locker room. Al Ahly head coach Manuel José was kicked and punched by Al-Masry supporters while trying to return to the locker room and was later taken to a police station.
The disaster set off civil unrest and clashes with police in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez. The Egyptian Football Association postponed the season's remaining matches and, on 10 March 2012, cancelled the rest of the 2011–12 season; the Egyptian government subsequently suspended the domestic league for two years. News commentary, including from the New York Times and an ESPN columnist, noted that many of the Al Ahly fans present belonged to Ultras Ahlawy, a group that had taken part in the 2011 Tahrir Square protests against the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and raised the possibility that the riot was retaliatory or politically motivated; these accounts describe this as an allegation rather than an established finding. In 2015, footballer Mohamed Salah, on loan at Italian club Fiorentina, wore squad number 74 in tribute to those killed.
Seventy-three defendants — including nine police officers and two Al-Masry club officials — were charged over the killing of 72 Al Ahly supporters. On 26 January 2013, a Port Said court issued preliminary death sentences to 21 defendants; it confirmed those sentences on 9 March 2013 and issued sentences ranging from one to fifteen years, and life terms, to most of the remaining defendants, while acquitting 28, including seven police officers and both charged Al-Masry club officials. Unrest linked to the verdict near Port Said General Prison left two police officers and 40 civilians dead. Egypt's Court of Cassation ordered a retrial of 64 defendants in February 2014. In the retrial, the court issued 11 preliminary death sentences in April 2015, confirmed them in June 2015 while acquitting 21 defendants, and in August and November 2015 resolved sentences for defendants tried in absentia. Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld the final death sentences for 11 defendants on 20 February 2017. In total, of the original 73 defendants, 47 were convicted and 26 were acquitted as of 15 November 2015.
Key facts
- Victims
- Manuel José
- Date
- 2012
- Location
- Port Said Stadium
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
2012-02-01
A riot broke out at Port Said Stadium after Al Masry's 3–1 win over Al Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League; 74 people were killed and more than 500 injured.
2012-02-02
The Parliament of Egypt called for an emergency session to be held to discuss the disaster and the security response.
2012-03-10
The Egyptian Football Association announced the cancellation of the remainder of the 2011–12 season.
2013-01-26
Port Said Criminal Court issued preliminary death sentences to 21 of the 73 charged defendants.
2013-03-09
The court confirmed the 21 death sentences and sentenced other defendants to prison terms of one to fifteen years or life, while acquitting 28 defendants, including seven police officers and both charged Al-Masry club officials; related unrest near Port Said General Prison left two police officers and 40 civilians dead.
2014-02-06
Egypt's Court of Cassation ordered a retrial of 64 defendants and rejected the appeals of nine defendants sentenced to between one and ten years.
2015-04-19
In the retrial, 11 defendants were issued preliminary death sentences.
2015-06-09
The court confirmed the 11 death sentences and acquitted 21 defendants.
2015-08-23
The court upheld a death sentence issued in absentia to one defendant and acquitted five of six other defendants sentenced in absentia to 10-year terms.
2015-11-15
The one remaining in-absentia defendant had his 10-year sentence reduced to five years.
2015
Footballer Mohamed Salah, on loan at Italian club Fiorentina, wore squad number 74 in tribute to those killed in the riot.
2017-02-20
Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld the final death sentences for the 11 defendants.
Best coverage
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People
Abdel-Aziz Sami
ACQUITTEDFormer head of the Central Security Forces in the Suez Canal area. Acquitted in the 9 March 2013 verdict.
Mohamed Saad
CONVICTEDHead of the Port Said Water Bodies Security Department. Convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison in the 9 March 2013 verdict.
Manuel José
VICTIMAl Ahly head coach. Kicked and punched by Al-Masry supporters while attempting to return to the locker room during the riot and afterward taken to a police station; he was not among the 74 people killed.
Mohamed El-Desouki
ACQUITTEDFormer head of security at Al-Masry club, and one of two Al-Masry officials charged. Acquitted in the 9 March 2013 verdict.
Essam Samak
CONVICTEDFormer Port Said security director. Convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison in the 9 March 2013 verdict.
Bahy El-Din Zaghloul
ACQUITTEDFormer head of the Port Said National Security Directorate. Acquitted in the 9 March 2013 verdict.
Mostafa Razaz
ACQUITTEDFormer head of the Port Said police investigation department. Acquitted in the 9 March 2013 verdict.
Mohsen Sheta
CONVICTEDMajor General; executive director of Al-Masry club at the time of the riot, and one of two Al-Masry officials charged. Acquitted in the 9 March 2013 verdict; convicted on retrial and sentenced to 5 years in prison in the 9 June 2015 verdict.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
archival location
Port Said, Egypt
Credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · Source
archival location
Al Masry Club Stadium, Port Said
Credit: ILevi53 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
archival location
Al Ahly supporters’ tifo display — the club’s ultras
Credit: Saiflee100 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
archival location
Cairo International Stadium — Al Ahly’s home ground in Cairo
Credit: Crosskimo at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Source
archival location
Al Ahly SC stadium, Egypt (Egyptian Premier League match)
Credit: Crosskimo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
archival location
A street in Port Said, Egypt
Credit: Hatem Moushir · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
archival location
Port Said harbour, Egypt
Credit: Mohamed kamal 1984 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
archival location
Port Said and the northern entrance of the Suez Canal (from orbit)
Credit: NASA/Tim Kopra · Public domain · Source
archival location
Cairo and the Nile, Egypt — home city of Al Ahly
Credit: Andrew A. Shenouda from Cairo, Egypt · CC BY 2.0 · Source
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- A riot after an Al Masry–Al Ahly football match at Port Said Stadium in Egypt on 1 February 2012 killed 74 people and injured more than 500, after Al Masry supporters invaded the pitch and stadium gates were not opened. Of 73 charged defendants, 47 were convicted, including 11 sentenced to death; Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld the death sentences on 20 February 2017.
- Where did the crime happen?
- Port Said Stadium.
- Who was convicted?
- Mohamed Saad (Head of the Port Said Water Bodies Security Department. Convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison in the 9 March 2013 verdict.), Essam Samak (Former Port Said security director. Convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison in the 9 March 2013 verdict.), and Mohsen Sheta (Major General; executive director of Al-Masry club at the time of the riot, and one of two Al-Masry officials charged. Acquitted in the 9 March 2013 verdict; convicted on retrial and sentenced to 5 years in prison in the 9 June 2015 verdict.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved.
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Sources
- ENCYCLOPEDICPort Said Stadium riotWikipedia · 2026-07-16
- PRESSBBC coverage of the Port Said Stadium riotBBC News · 2026-07-16
- PRESSEgypt football riot: Al Ahly coach Manuel Jose says he saw fans dyingThe Telegraph · 2026-07-16
Record history
- First published
- JUL 18, 2026
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