Football riot ruling ignites Cairo

Flames rise from a room at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo (Getty Images)

Egyptian protesters set fire to buildings in Cairo yesterday and tried unsuccessfully to disrupt international shipping on the Suez Canal, as a court ruling on a deadly football riot stoked rage in a country beset by worsening security.

The confirmation of the death sentences imposed on 21 fans for their role in the riot last year, when more than 70 people died, enraged residents of the Suez Canal city Port Said. The court also angered rival fans in Cairo by acquitting a further 28 defendants, including seven members of the much-reviled police force.

Security sources said that one person had died in Cairo from the effects of tear gas and that 65 people had been injured, some by rubber bullets.