Anger over a deadly soccer riot erupted in fresh clashes that injured nearly 400 people today as security forces fired tear gas at fans and other protesters who accused police of failing to stop the bloodshed. The violence threatened to plunge the country into a new crisis nearly a year after Hosni Mubarak stepped down. A network of rabid soccer fans known as Ultras vowed vengeance, accusing the police of intentionally letting rivals attack them after yesterday's game in Port Said.
The Ultras think police have it out for them because they have been at the forefront of protests over the past year, first against Mubarak and now the military that assumed power. Security officials said 74 people were killed, in the world's worst soccer violence in 15 years. The fighting was rooted in a long-standing, deep rivalry between the two teams, but it rapidly took on a political tone as lawmakers and the public widely denounced the police for standing by as the violence escalated. (More Egypt stories.)