Egyptian court to rule on deadly football riot

26 January 2013, 10:47 (GMT+04:00)

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An Egyptian court was expected to rule Saturday on the country's worst football tragedy amid heavy security for fear of a violent backlash from militant fans dpa reported.

About 20,000 soldiers and police were to be deployed inside and outside the courthouse near Cairo where 73 people are on trial for alleged involvement in killing dozens of people in February.

Seventy-four people were killed in the Port Said stadium in rioting that followed a Premier League match between the hosts al-Masry and their rivals al-Ahly.

The defendants include nine policemen and three officials from al-Masry. They face charges ranging from murder to negligence.

Other defendants are football fans as well as people alleged to have seized the opportunity to stoke unrest.

Militant football fans this week warned of "chaos" if no justice is achieved for the victims.