Egypt names hard-core soccer fans as terror group

CAIRO — The Cairo Court for Urgent Matters ruled May 16 to designate all Ultras soccer fan groups as terrorist organizations and outlaw them across Egypt. The Ultras are zealous, hard-core fans known for their riotous behavior at matches. The two biggest groups, the Ultras Ahlawy and the Ultras Zamalek White Knights, count nearly 2 million youths among their ranks and constitute a formidable force at protests.

They are also a thorn in the side of Mortada Mansour, the owner of the Zamalek SC soccer team. Zamalek and Ahly are the two major league teams in Cairo and easily the most popular teams in the country, setting up a classic rivalry. Swept up in the thrill of a good match and the adrenaline of the crowd, the Ultras are known for getting quite rowdy. Mansour has accused the Ultras of attacking government buildings, storming the Ahly soccer club and attempting to assassinate the minister of sports. The recent terrorist designation is the outcome of a lawsuit he filed against the Ultras last September.

The court initially declined the case Jan. 27, citing a lack of jurisdiction, but after Mansour filed an appeal, it agreed to consider the case and eventually ruled in his favor. The court based its verdict on Egypt’s new terror law, which classifies terrorists as “any association, organization, group or gang that practices, aims at or calls for destabilizing public order, endangers society’s well-being or its safety interests or endangers social unity by using violence, power, threats or acts of terrorism to achieve its goals.”

On March 17, after investigating a brawl that broke out outside the Air Defense Stadium and resulted in the deaths of 22 civilians, Egypt’s Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat declared that the Ultras White Knights were the ones responsible for the violence. He said in a statement, “Members of the Zamalek fan club received money from the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group to commit acts of rioting and violence.”