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Mussenden sends condolences to Egypt after riot fatalities

Bermuda Football Association (BFA) president Larry Mussenden has extended his heartfelt condolences to the Egypt football fraternity as they come to grips with aftermath of last week’s violent clash at a football match.Violence reared its ugly head in last week’s Egyptian league match between home side Al-Masry and Al-Ahly, with the hosts winning the match 3-1.A security official at the field claimed the local supporters attacked players and opposition fans, cornering the travelling Al-Ahly faithful on the field and around the stadium and throwing stones and bottles at themWitnesses have said that riot police stood by as fans of home team Al-Masry rushed the field after their win, one of Egypt’s most popular clubs.The result of the incident left 74 dead and an estimated 1,000 injured at the stadium, with Egypt’s Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri dissolving the Egyptian Football Federation’s board and referred its members for questioning by prosecutors after the post-match clashes.El-Ganzouri also says the governor of Port Said province and the area’s police chief have resigned.The tragic events sent shock waves through the football world and is something that all football associations are now looking at in their own countries between rival clubs.Mussenden has sent his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the clashes at last week’s match.“On the BFA and the people of Bermuda, I would like to send out or deepest sympathies and support for those families who lost someone in the recent events in Egypt,” said Mussenden. “We know that around the world the football can stop wars and we hope that this can become a reality in that country.“There are some things that the game can influence and hopefully it can change the situation over there.“Locally we have our own personal issues that have turned into violence, not games, but is getting its way into the sporting arena and we are looking at ways to stop this as well.“It’s not often that you see something like this, the world is hurting from it, and we just hope that the aftermath proves to be smooth and successful.”FIFA president Sepp Blatter described the violence in Egypt as a “black day for football”, while donating $250,000 to the families of the victims of last week’s Egyptian stadium disaster in which people were killed.“I stated after the tragedy that this day was a black day for football. I’m still very shocked by what happened. Many of the victims were so young,” Blatter said in a statement.