At least two people have been killed in the latest unrest in the Egyptian capital Cairo, amid continuing anger over 74 deaths after a football match in Port Said on Wednesday.

Many Egyptians blame the authorities for failing to protect fans.

A demonstrator and a soldier died on Friday as clashes continued outside the interior ministry, with police firing tear gas at stone-throwing crowds.

Violence on Thursday left two dead in Suez and hundreds injured.

Revenge for revolution?

The latest bout of unrest began on Wednesday, after a pitch invasion in Port Said, when Cairo’s visiting al-Ahly side were attacked after losing to the local al-Masry side. Seventy-four people died and over 1,000 were injured.

Most of the dead were believed to be al-Ahly supporters. Hardcore fans – known as “ultras” – have accused the authorities of allowing the killings to happen.

They say the authorities wanted revenge because the ultras were among those battling the police during last year’s revolution that ousted strongman leader Hosni Mubarak.

Anger over the deaths has combined with widespread frustration at the pace of reforms undertaken by Egypt’s interim military rulers.

On Thursday, about 10,000 protesters gathered outside the interior ministry, where they clashed with security forces preventing them from reaching the building. Hundreds were injured, health officials said.

The BBC’s Yolande Knell in Cairo says protesters spent the night dismantling concrete security walls erected around the ministry last November after a previous outbreak of unrest.

Thousands gathered outside the ministry on Thursday and became embroiled in angry clashes with security forces. Officers used tear gas to disperse the crowds.

The health ministry said more than 1,000 protesters were injured, some with broken bones, most suffering from tear gas inhalation. Some 54 police officers and soldiers were also reported injured.

Spreading unrest

By Thursday night, the unrest had spread across the country. Two people were shot dead in Suez as a crowd of hundreds attempted to overrun a police station.

On Friday, protests resumed outside the interior ministry in Cairo, where at least one protester was reported dead. A soldier also died from injuries sustained on Thursday, state media said.

In Alexandria, a protest march is heading for the regional offices of the military government.

Protester Wael Nawara told the BBC’s Network Africa programme that many middle-ranking officers loyal to the former president were still in charge at the ministry and were “conspiring against revolution”.

“There have been many calls throughout the last few months of restructuring the ministry of interior to bring the officers who are responsible for earlier deaths to trial, but nothing really has changed much in the behaviour of the ministry,” he said.

The government has dismissed several senior officials in response to the football deaths.

Port Said’s director of security and the head of investigations were suspended and are now in custody.

Demonstrators angered by the deaths of 74 people after a football match in the city of Port Said on Wednesday have clashed with police outside the Egyptian interior ministry in Cairo.

Hundreds have been injured, state-owned Egyptian TV reported.

Earlier, the Egyptian prime minister announced the sackings of senior officials in Port Said and at the Egyptian football association.

Funerals of some of the victims took place in Port Said.

Wednesday’s riot began when fans invaded the pitch after a football match involving top Cairo club al-Ahly and the Port Said side al-Masry.

Slogans and stones

In Cairo, people gathered in the streets around Tahrir Square, the focal point of last year’s protests which led to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.

Demonstrators, many of them al-Ahly supporters known as Ultras, used metal barriers and vehicles to close the square.

Thousands then marched to the interior ministry, some 500m (547 yards) away. Some chanted slogans against Egypt’s military rulers, while others threw stones.

Police responded with tear gas, causing hundreds to run away.

Motorcycles ferried the injured from the scene as ambulances were unable to get through.

Channel 1 of Egyptian TV, which is state-owned, said 382 people had been injured, of whom 266 were taken to hospital, while the remainder were treated on site.

TV pictures from Cairo showed crowds outside the barricades which surround the interior ministry.

Earlier on Thursday, parliament met in emergency session, beginning with a minute’s silence.

Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri told MPs the head of Egypt’s football association had been sacked and the board dissolved, with its members referred to prosecutors for questioning.

Port Said’s director of security and the head of investigations were suspended and are now in custody, Mr Ganzouri said.

The BBC’s Jon Leyne, in Cairo, says there is a mood of extreme bitterness. Many supporters believe police were incompetent, or actively provoked the unrest.

Police in Egypt have been keeping a much lower profile since last year’s popular protests.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood – which has emerged as Egypt’s biggest party in recent elections – blamed ex-President Mubarak’s supporters for the violence.

Crowds are gathering in Cairo as tension rises after riots in the city of Port Said on Wednesday which left at least 74 people dead.

Angry fans blocked Tahrir Square. Others are marching in protest at the handling of the riots by police.

Three days of national mourning were declared over the riot, in which fans invaded the pitch after a football match involving top Cairo club al-Ahly.

The cabinet and parliament are meeting, and Port Said’s governor has resigned.

Egypt’s public prosecutor has ordered the questioning of 52 people arrested after the riots, as well as the Port Said governor and the city’s security chief, who was sacked earlier.

Parliament opened with a minute’s silence. Speaker Mohamed Saad al-Katatni said the riots were the “work of the devil” and that Egypt’s revolution was “in danger”.

Funerals were expected to be held after noon (10:00 GMT) prayers in Port Said.

All Egyptian premier-league matches have been postponed indefinitely, and reports say the leadership of the country’s football federation has been sacked.

The Confederation of African Football said a minute’s silence would be held at the quarter-final matches of the African Cup of Nations at the weekend.

World football body Fifa said it was “in mourning” and had asked Egypt for a full report on the incidents.

‘Rage in their eyes’

Demonstrators, many of them al-Ahly supporters known as Ultras, used metal barriers and vehicles to close Tahrir Square, the scene of huge protests last year which led to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.

Others are marching from the club’s headquarters towards the interior ministry.

The BBC’s Jon Leyne in Cairo says there is a mood of extreme bitterness. Many supporters believe police were incompetent, or had actively provoked the unrest.

“People are really angry, you could see the rage in their eyes,” al-Ahly supporter Mohammed Abdel Hamid told the BBC.

Our correspondent says Egyptian fans are notoriously violent, particularly the Ultras.

They have been heavily implicated in confronting the police during recent political protests, he adds, and there is speculation that the security forces may have had an interest in taking them on.

Police in Egypt have been keeping a much lower profile since last year’s popular protests.

On Wednesday night hundreds gathered at Cairo’s main railway station to receive the injured and the first bodies arriving from Port Said, with some chanting slogans against military rule.

“They were beating us from inside and outside, with fireworks, stones, metal bars, and some had knives,” one fan told a private TV station.

Army units were deployed in Port Said and joined police patrols around morgues and hospitals, but most streets had no police presence.

The army has set up checkpoints at entrances to the city.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt’s ruling army council, went to an airbase near Cairo to meet al-Ahly players who were flown back from Port Said on a military aircraft.

“This will not bring Egypt down… These incidents happen anywhere in the world. We will not let those behind it go,” he said, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Police overwhelmed

Our correspondent says it appears some fans had taken knives into the stadium, and the lack of the usual level of security in the stadium might have contributed to the clashes.

Wednesday’s violence broke out at the end of the match, which Port Said club al-Masry won 3-1.

Witnesses said the atmosphere had been tense throughout the match – since an al-Ahly fan raised a banner insulting supporters of the home team.

As the match ended, people flooded onto the pitch attacking al-Ahly players and fans.

A small group of riot police tried to protect the players, but were overwhelmed.

Part of the stadium was set on fire.

Officials say most of the deaths were caused by concussions, deep cuts to the heads and suffocation from the stampede.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood – which has emerged as Egypt’s biggest party in recent elections – blamed supporters of ousted President Hosni Mubarak for the violence.

In Cairo, another match was halted by the referee after news of the Port Said violence.

It prompted fans to set parts of the stadium on fire, though no casualties were reported and the fire was quickly extinguished.

At least 40 Egyptians were killed Wednesday in violence following a soccer match in Port Said, when fans flooded the field seconds after a match against a rival team was over, Egypt’s Health ministry said.

It was one of the worst incidents of sports violence in Egypt in decades.

A security official and a medic said fans of the home team, Al-Masry, swarmed the field after a rare 3-1 win against Al-Ahly, Egypt’s top team. They threw stones, fireworks, and bottles at the fans and injured some players.

A medic at a morgue in Port Said, a city on the Mediterranean coast, said some of the dead were security officers. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

The causes of the deaths were not immediately known.

The ministry’s statement about 40 dead was carried on state TV.

The players were later taken to the locker room for protection, Sayed Hamdi, a player told state TV.

Soon after the violence, a soccer game in the Cairo Stadium between the Al-Ismailiya and Zamalek teams was called off in mourning for the violence in Port Said.

State TV showed video of sections of the Cairo stadium on fire. The announcer said angry fans of the Zamalek protested the cancellation and set some sections of the stadium on fire.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is defending four Michigan high-school football players who ignored a referee and allegedly assaulted the opposing team’s quarterback, saying the resulting charges against the four are based solely on their race.

It was during an Oct. 21 football game between Star Academy and Westland Lutheran High School in Dearborn Heights when the quarterback for Westland planned to take a knee to end the game with a 48-6 victory.

Referees reportedly instructed players not to have contact after the snap. While the quarterback, P.J. Kruse, was taking his knee, Star players burst through the unprepared offensive line and threw him to the ground.

He suffered a concussion in the melee.

Following a three-month investigation, the Wayne County prosecutor filed aggravated assault charges against Star Academy seniors Mohamed Ahmed, Fanar Al-Alsady, Hadee Attia and Ali Bajjey.

But the attorney for the players, Nabih Ayad, said the charges were based solely on the players’ race. CAIR-Michigan, the Arab Civil Rights League and the NAACP have sent the prosecutors a letter asking for all of the charges to be dismissed.

In a recent news conference, CAIR said there was new video that showed the incident was “greatly exaggerated: and that no charges would have been filed if the players had been any other religion.” But the video has not been released.

CAIR spokesman Dawud Walid said, “We believe that from the very beginning that, if these young men may have been of a different ethnicity, of a different religion, different skin color, that Dearborn Heights police officer most likely would not have been so aggressive in the means in which he carried out his investigation.”

Ayad said, “Had their names been John or Bill, Randy or Jason, I don’t think these charges would be standing here today. Because of the Arab ethnicity, I think these charges were brought with the racial animus behind it.”

He went on to describe the events that resulted in the opposing quarterback’s concussion simply as a post-play “skirmish” that frequently happens in football games.

But Kym Worthy, the Wayne County prosecutor, said neither race nor ethnicity played any role in the charges.

“Our investigation in this case includes a videotape which captured the incident. After a review of the evidence, we have charged the people involved in this incident with the appropriate charges,” Worthy said.

Robert Spencer with Jihad Watch said Ayad’s statement trivializing what happened was incredible.

“Really? Players commonly give their opponents concussions in non-game situations?”

Spencer pointed out that if non-Muslims had assaulted a Muslim, CAIR would be demanding the players face hate crime charges.

“In this case, they’re trying to portray some thuggish Muslim footballers as victims, both to advance their Muslim victimhood narrative, and to try to intimidate law enforcement officials into being afraid to charge Muslims with anything, for fear of being charged with racial or ethnic or religious bias,” he said.

CAIR’s reaction to the incident follows on the heels of similar incidents where the group has tried to play the victim card.

During a recent series of firebombings in Queens, New York, CAIR quickly claimed that the attacks were caused by Islamophobia.

While a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the door of the Al-Khoei Islamic Foundation, which houses one of the most prominent Shi’ite mosques in New York, the assailant also firebombed a house of a black Christian couple as well as another house which served as a Hindu place of worship.

Following the attacks CAIR called for police to increase patrols around mosques. However, leaders did not call for similar patrols around houses of worship for other faiths.

Spencer said CAIR’s reaction reveals that the group will not hesitate to use any event to their advantage to portray Muslims as victims in this country.

“CAIR did not mention anything about the Hindus or Christians when they issued their release. This just shows how self-serving their claims of victimhood really are,” Spencer said. “They called for increased police patrols against mosques, but they didn’t say anything about calling for protection for Hindu or Christian places of worship.”

The charges against the four players are even more noteworthy when one considers the location. Dearborn Heights is located just outside of Dearborn, which was recently featured in the television series “All-American Muslim.”

The show, which suffered from low ratings, had more than 65 sponsors stop advertising during its run on TLC. During the show’s run, Lowe’s was singled out by CAIR and others for choosing to stop advertising on the show.

CAIR called the move by Lowe’s to pull advertising “anti-Muslim bigotry.”

California state Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, went further by threatening Lowe’s with legal action if the company did not reinstate the ads and apologize to Muslims.

In a letter sent to Lowe’s chief executive officer, Robert Niblock, Lieu said, “Lowe’s action is bigoted, shameful, and un-American. I call on Lowe’s to rescind its action and apologize to Americans who are Muslim. If Lowe’s continues its religious bigotry, I will encourage boycotts of Lowe’s and look into legislative remedies.”

CAIR did not respond to WND requests for comment.

But in 2010, police arrested David Wood, Nabeel Qureshi, Paul Rezkalla and 18-year-old Negeen Mayel for talking to Muslims at the annual Dearborn Arab international Festival in Dearborn.

The four Christians were talking to people who approached and engaged them in conversation. Police arrested the Christians for disturbing the peace but they eventually were acquitted of charges.

The year before, George Saieg, a Sudanese Christian pastor, was threatened with arrest by Dearborn police if he handed out information on Christianity near the festival.

WND recently reported how the city was ordered to pay over $100,000 in legal fees over its handling of the incident.