On Sunday, the Egyptian football Premier League announced it had banned 3,000 Al Ahly fans from two games for yelling “insults” at Zamalek and Egyptian player Shikabala during the team’s last game against Pharco.
Although Al-Ahly didn’t play Zamalek on Friday, the presence of 3,000 fans – the maximum number allowed for a local football game – vented their anger at midfielder Shikabala in what is now a long-running saga of insult trading between fans of both teams.
Al-Ahly was also fined 20,000 Egyptian pounds (US$650) for the incident.
The EPL also suspended 2021 Ismailia fans and 874 Al-Ittihad fans for swearing during Friday’s games against Enppi and Smouha respectively.
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“If the insults are repeated, fans will be banned from attending league games until the end of the season,” the league said on Sunday.
Egypt has allowed a maximum of 6,000 fans to attend a national football match, with a maximum of 3,000 per team, since the Port Said stadium disaster in 2012, which killed more than 70 Al Ahly fans and injured several hundred.
The only exceptions are international matches involving the national team or matches organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The country’s ticketing system requires fans to show ID when purchasing match tickets, making it easier for authorities to track and ban attendees if necessary.
