I bet Bob Bradley had not anticipated this when he took over as coach of the Pharaohs last year. Needless to say, it is very sad what happened in Egypt earlier this week.
A league match pitting rivals Al-Masry and Al-Ahly at Port Said turned tragic when 73 fans were killed when violence broke out after Al-Masry 3-1 win. Though rivalry between these two clubs is intense, it should not be an excuse for what happened.
Reports claim that thousands of Al-Masry fans flocked the pitch in celebration after the final whistle while others attacked Al-Ahly fans who had huddled up at the far end of the stadium.
The home fans threw stones and bottles at the Al-Ahly fans despite their victory. I am still baffled why Al-Masry would resort to violence even after wining the match!
It will be interesting to see what action FIFA and CAF take on Al-Masry with Al-Ahly players Mohamed Bakarat and Emad Meteb vowing that their club will never again play football after Wednesday’s incident.
So what next for Bradley? Well, the former US tactician is still uncertain about his career in Egypt choosing instead to send out his condolences to the families that were affected.
“It’s a tragedy to see this take place at a football match, and to see so many young people lose their lives is a terrible thing and something that is very sad for everyone living in Egypt,” Bradley was quoted by Al-Ahly website.
“Of course, we feel strongly about what we’re here to do in Egypt,”
“It’s the dream of all the people here to qualify for the World Cup. We came here to work with the people and work with the federation to try to accomplish this dream.”
With Egypt’s world cup qualifying campaign set to begin on June 1st at home against Mozambique, Bradley has called for the people of Egypt to stick together.
“They must be strong. They must always realize the hope for the future and realize to accomplish great things for Egypt as a country and again as a football team that the strength comes from the unity of the people,” he concluded.
Truth be said, you have to feel for Egypt, the political unrest and now this! Judging from Bradley’s sentiments, i do not expect him to walk out on the Pharaohs, however, he will definitely have a hard time trying to heal the wounds especially in the team camp with players being drawn from both sides.
Photo Credit © Doha Stadium Plus