Top 5 worst riots in footballing history

2) Al Ahly Massacre

The ‘Al Ahly massacre’ as dubbed by the media is still fresh in the minds of Egyptian football fans. Egypt has been home to many such unsavoury incidents like the attack on Libya fans in 2006 but none on such a huge scale.

Port Said stadium was witness to this dubious incident in 2012 when a group of politically influenced supporters of Al Masry entered the stadiums with knives, clubs and swords in order to attack their Al Ahly counterparts.

This led to the death of 79 people while many more were gravely injured. The Egyptian league was banned for a year as a consequence of this shameful incident.

1) Lima football riots

Also known as the Estadio Nacional disaster, this took place in the National Stadium in Peru and is termed as the worst riot in football history. On May 24, 1964, Argentina and Peru were playing for a place in the Tokyo Olympic tournament.

Argentina were leading 1-0 two minutes before full time when Peru had a goal disallowed which instigated the Peruvians. A local drunk man who charged down the field , was followed by hordes of Peruvians.

Firing gas cannisters by the security officials only worsened this situation as it caused mass panic. The shutters of the gates were usually shut down during the match. With the gates closed down, there was a huge stampede resulting in the death of 320 people and injuries to around 500 people.