Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • News
  • Features
  • Comment
  • Store
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Podcast Info
    • Hanania Podcast intro
    • Live Arab Radio
  • Your Views
  • Submit Press Release
  • Toggle search form
  • J.B. Pritzker from his election campaign Facebook Page at UFCW union endorsement.
    Pritzker interview with Arab American newspapers American Arabs
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    AHRC “Spirit of Humanity” Awards & Dinner Gala, New Date:  Friday, October 21, 2022  Activism
  • rab American Democratic Club hosts a gathering of elected officials and journalists looking at the recent elections, celebrating Ramadan and Arab American Heritage month (April.)
    Arab American Heritage Month, Ramadan feted by Journalists and elected officials American Arabs
  • Chicago Mayoral candidate Dr. Willie Wilson promised to ensure that Arabs and Muslims will be included in his administration during a visit he made to celebrate the Eid Al Adha with Chicagoland's Muslim community.
    Chicago Mayoral candidate Dr. Willie Wilson promises to support Arabs and Muslims Activism
  • Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Pritzker makes more appointments, none are Arab American American Arabs
  • The American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (American FRRME) helping Christians in Iraq
    New report on Christians in Iraq shows desperate situation and needs Arab World
  • Winter in Bekaa Lebanon January 2015 Photo courtesy of NRC Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
    AHRC Observes World Refugee Day American Arabs
  • Endorsements: Democrats in the Illinois June 28, 2022 Primary election Activism
  • The Arab Daily News candidate endorsements: Cook County, Illinois American Arabs
  • Endorsements: Republicans in the Illinois Republican Primary Election June 28, 2022 Election
  • Joseph Gutman was appointed by Gov. Pritzker to serve as a Member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Gutman was a Partner at BDT & Company from 2017 until retiring in January 2020 where he remains a consultant today.
    Gov Pritzker makes more appointments to state commissions, boards but no Arabs American Arabs
  • World Jewish Congress Chairman Ronald S. Lauder
    WJC President Ronald S. Lauder Receives France’s Top Distinction  Activism
  • Project DYNAMO rescues more than 600 people from Mariupol, Ukraine over the last week Major Mariupol rescue operation conducted by Project DYNAMO, more than 480 people from Mariupol as city under violent siege falling to Russian forces. 
    Project DYNAMO rescues more than 600 people from Mariupol, Ukraine over the last week Human Rights
  • US Congressman Sean Casten, 6th District, Illinois
    Congressman Sean Casten joins Ray Hanania Radio Show American Arabs
  • The U.S.S. Liberty photo courtesy of the USS Liberty Veterans.
    Survivors of Israel’s strike on USS Liberty commemorate 55th year June 6 – 8 American Arabs

Egypt throws the dice with partial lifting of stadia ban

Posted on September 10, 2015June 12, 2019 By James Dorsey No Comments on Egypt throws the dice with partial lifting of stadia ban
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

By James M. Dorsey

James M. Dorsey, author, writer, blogger
James M. Dorsey, author, writer, blogger

The Egyptian interior ministry, in a potential signal that the country’s military-backed regime recognizes that its choking off of all public space could backfire, has agreed to allow fans to attend international matches played by the national team and Egyptian clubs.

In doing so, the ministry de facto acknowledged that it has put itself between a rock and hard place. Many Egyptians blame the national team’s poor performance on the fact that fans have largely not been allowed into stadia to support their squad or their clubs since the popular revolt that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The continued ban risks the government shouldering the blame for the inability of the national team to maintain a track record of being Africa’s most crowned squad. Egypt’s national team was crushed in June when it was defeated 3:0 by Tanzania in a match in Alexandria from which fans were barred.

Sports minister Khaled Abdel-Aziz said the lifting was applicable to all home qualifiers for the 2017 African Cup of Nations and 2018 World Cup and international championship matches played by storied Cairo teams Al Ahli SC and Al Zamalek SC, two of Africa’s top clubs.

“Fan support is crucial to Egypt’s chances in the Nations Cup and World Cup. The authorities are aware of the importance of having the fans back in the stands,” Mr. Abdel-Aziz said. Past Egyptian governments have basked in the success of the national team and used it to shore up their tarnished images.

Arab soccer photo
Photo by Hussain Isa

The opening of international matches to the public however risks mounting anger among militant soccer fans and student protest groups in which the fans play a central role spilling onto the soccer pitch.

Egyptian media speculated that the ministry was testing the waters with its decision and that the move could lead to an overall lifting of the ban on spectators in stadia. A successful reopening of the stadia without incidents would boost a government whose image is dominated by brutal repression.

In calculating its risk, the ministry has several precedents to work with. A partial lifting of the ban in February was quickly re-imposed after some 20 fans were killed by security forces as they tried to force their way into a Cairo stadium. The fans were protesting against the government allowing only a limited number of people into the stadium and over manipulation of ticket sales to control which fans gained entry.

On the plus side, militant Ahli fans voluntarily left a stadium in November that they had occupied hours before their club was scheduled to play an African championship. The incident was a rare example in which Egyptian security forces agreed to a negotiated, peaceful resolution rather than a hard-handed crackdown.

In a deal, negotiated by Al Ahli’s management the fans agreed to leave the stadium in exchange for being allowed to attend the match, being treated with respect rather than humiliated at security checks, and promising not to disrupt the match. Al Ahli won the championship in a match that proceeded without incident.

Militant fans have long been demanding a lifting of the spectator ban. Thousands of hard-core supporters of Al Ahli and Al Zamalek have attended their clubs’ training sessions in recent months to demonstrate that it was not them but the security forces that were responsible for repeated violent incidents.

The interior ministry in lifting the ban for international matches is hoping that fans would not want to be blamed for failures of the national team or their clubs as a result of protests and violence in the stadium.

That remains a risky bet. Egyptian security forces have a history of impunity in which successive governments including that of general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi have allowed them to get away with mass killings of protesters, mass arrests and torture.

Successive governments, including that of Mr. Al Sisi who staged a coup in 2013 to topple Egypt’s first and only democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, a Muslim Brother, have backed away from seriously tackling badly needed security sector reform, a key driver of Egypt’s continued turmoil.

Despite Al Ahli’s successful negotiation of the November crisis and management’s continued engagement with hard-line fan groups who played a key role in the protests that toppled Mr. Mubarak and anti-government protests since, relations between the government and some clubs and fans are tense.

Zamalek president Mortada Mansour has accused the Ultras White Knights (UWK), the militant Zamalek fan group, of attempting to assassinate him and has tried to persuade the courts to ban militant soccer support groups as terrorist organizations.

Mr. Mortada stopped just short of praising the death of 20 Zamalek supporters in the stadium incident in February but prided himself on having requested the security force action that led to their deaths.

Large numbers of militant soccer fans are behind bars either for soccer-related incidents or because of their role in mass anti-government demonstrations in universities and flash protests in neighbourhood in which they played a key role.

The limited lifting of the spectator ban potentially creates a space for fans to let off steam and vent pent-up anger and frustration in a country that allows for no controlled public space and has created feeding grounds for radicalization.

The risk for politicized fans considering exploiting a rare opportunity is not only a harsh government response, one they have grown accustomed to, but alienating themselves from a public that is likely to see the matches as a rare chance to get away from the daily grind.

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Würzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a forthcoming book with the same title.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
James Dorsey
Follow Me
James Dorsey
James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Würzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a forthcoming book with the same title.
James Dorsey
Follow Me
Latest posts by James Dorsey (see all)
  • Soccer highlights domestic drivers in Saudi-Iranian dispute - January 4, 2016
  • Soccer: Iranian moderates and hardliner lock horns on the pitch - December 29, 2015
  • Trade unions test Qatari sincerity with demands for labour reform - December 20, 2015

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Editors Picks, North Africa, Sports

Post navigation

Previous Post: Israel Police Investigate Mordechai Vanunu: Will Stephen Colbert Play Ball?
Next Post: 9/11: We will never forget, but will we ever learn?

Related Posts

  • Ambassadors for Peace and Divisiveness: Nasr and Oren


 Arab World
  • Middle East Arab Christians face extinction Arab World
  • Al-Quds University pens deal with Arab Investment corp Arab World
  • Dear Darling Jared Kushner and Observer Media American Arabs
  • BDS, Intifadas and Calls to Conscience #SolidarityWaveBDS #FreePalestine American Arabs
  • 6th anniversary of Mavi Marmara assault remembered Arab World

More Related Articles

UAE Sheikh Al Nahyan to meet with President Obama Activism
Human Rights activist Vince Warren Israel rejects entry to human rights activists Arab World
CNN’s Chris Cuomo pressed Netanyahu on Israel’s WMD and Slipped in The Truth Arab World
Gamal Gasim, associate professor of Middle East Studies and Political Science at Grand Valley State University Is a Military Coup d’état imminent in Yemen? Ali Younes
Ahmed Bin Bishr, Arab Culture, Instagram, social media, social networking Promoting Local Arab Culture in the Digital World Arab World
White House Six Day War Logs, Sex, Lies, and the USS Liberty Arab World

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Israeli soldiers and settlers attack Palestinians in Khirbet al-Mufaqarah, on Sept. 28, 2021 captured by B'Tselem video. The attacks were intentionally distorted by Israeli TV to blame the Palestinians
    Weaponizing Anti-Semitism as a tool to protect Israel’s war crimes
    July 27, 2022
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    Time to ditch the spoils system, our elected officials need to be more inclusive
    July 26, 2022
  • Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Nearly four years in office, Pritzker fails to deliver on promises to Arab Americans
    June 12, 2022
  • Palestinian refugees forced to flee their homes at gunpoint by Jewish terrorist groups operating in Palestine in the 1930s, 1940s and after Israel was created on May 14, 1948. Photo courtesy of the United Nations
    Unresolved status of Palestinian rights makes UNRWA essential
    May 7, 2022
  • NEWS
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    AHRC “Spirit of Humanity” Awards & Dinner Gala, New Date:  Friday, October 21, 2022 
    July 21, 2022
  • Chicago Mayoral candidate Dr. Willie Wilson promised to ensure that Arabs and Muslims will be included in his administration during a visit he made to celebrate the Eid Al Adha with Chicagoland's Muslim community.
    Chicago Mayoral candidate Dr. Willie Wilson promises to support Arabs and Muslims
    July 16, 2022
  • Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Pritzker makes more appointments, none are Arab American
    July 11, 2022
  • The American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (American FRRME) helping Christians in Iraq
    New report on Christians in Iraq shows desperate situation and needs
    June 20, 2022
  • NEWSWIRE
  • Imad Hamad Director American Human Rights Council
    AHRC Calls for Moral Consistency on Human Rights, Urges President Biden to Pause His Trip to Israel:
    May 24, 2022
  • The U.S.S. Liberty photo courtesy of the USS Liberty Veterans.
    Survivors of Israel’s strike on USS Liberty commemorate 55th year June 6 – 8
    May 23, 2022
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    AHRC hosts an open meeting with TSA & community
    May 19, 2022
  • Closure notice posted on the doors and windows of Arab American businesses during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closure of Arab owned stores in June - Sept. 2021. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Chicago aldermen to host forum on Arab businesses closed by Mayor Lightfoot
    April 15, 2022

The Tabboun Column

The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
  • Tabboun
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    The Political Grapevine/The Tabboun, Friday Dec. 16, 2021
    December 16, 2021
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    Tabboun: Chicago remains strongest Palestine voice
    September 7, 2016
  • The Tabboun: Israeli human rights violations hit
    June 30, 2016
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    Tabboun: Himes questions troop deployment to Syria
    November 3, 2015
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    The Tabboun: Dearborn removes statue of racist former mayor
    September 29, 2015

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Ad-Pantry-essentials.jpg
  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Sices-Ad.jpg
  • ZiyadBrandLogo-2016BlackRedBackgrnd.jpg
  • HANANIA Arab News Op-Eds
  • Ukraine conflict gives Palestinians chance to redefine their conflict
    March 9, 2022
  • Mishmeshan PHC medical center destroyed in Syrian Government assaults. Photo courtesy of UOSSM Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations
    President Biden’s dyslexic policy in Syria is a mess
    October 20, 2021
  • Annissa Essaibi George and family
    Annissa Essaibi George faces “race hypocrisy” in campaign to be Boston Mayor
    October 20, 2021
  • Jerusalem image of Jews and Arabs walking together. Shutterstock. Courtesy of Arab News Newspaper
    Jewish Michigan lawmaker leads push for Two State Solution
    October 7, 2021
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib, book cover. Photo courtesy of Cune Press
    Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib
    November 1, 2021
  • Girl Fighters, new book on Yemen Book Cune Press
    New Book: Girl Fighters: Break Tradition in Yemen 
    October 25, 2021
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • American Arab CHamber President HassanNijem accepts the Proclamation from Chicago Ald. Roderick Sawyer at the Chamber dinner March 30, 2022
    Chicagoland celebrates Arab American Heritage Month
    March 31, 2022
  • Hollywood Sign
    Will Smith violence takes Oscar protests to dangerous level
    March 31, 2022
  • 03-30-22 Arab Chamber Heritage Month Flyer
    Arab Chamber to host Arab Heritage Month dinner March 30
    March 14, 2022
  • “Rupture”, the psychological thriller produced by MBC STUDIOS, has won Best Saudi Film at the 2021 Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF).
    MBC GROUP’s Rupture wins Best Saudi Film at the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival
    December 15, 2021
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at Gab.com, MeWe.com and IDobbinate.com, the alternatives to Facebook and Twitter Censorship.

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2022 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme