Since its founding in 1907, Al Ahly S.C. has been known as ‘the people's club,' representing resistance against the many forms of colonialism that have long plagued the African continent. Initially the first sporting club to allow Egyptians to join, Al Ahly remains the most popular of Egyptian teams, wearing to this day the red kits that honour the pre-colonial Egyptian flag.

""Football can go to hell if this is the situation.""
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Those were the words of Al-Ahly's star player Mohamed Aboutrika in the wake of the tragedy in Port Said, calling for the Egyptian league to be suspended indefinitely. "Crowds are dying in front of us, and there aren't any police or security forces," he said.

No doubt you've already seen the horrendous footage of Al Masry fans storming the pitch to attack Al Ahly players and supporters. In case you haven't, it's in the video above. Absolute carnage broke out when Al Masry secured a 3-1 victory over their fierce rivals. The home fans many of them armed [.

A violent riot erupted following a match between Egyptian rivals Al-Masry and Al-Ahly, leaving dozens of people dead and hundreds of others injured.

According to various reports, the still-escalating death count from the incident in Port Said, Egypt, stands at 73, while Egyptian outlets are reporting that the country's health ministry has said that more than 1,000 are hurt.

So finally this much-vaunted "Game in Hand" is upon us. Truth be told, I will be a little sad to see it go. It has practically become part of the family, like a scruffy, uncouth urchin discovered in the wreckage of the summer riots, and adopted by the cheery folk of White Hart Lane. And let's face it, this Game in Hand has proved more useful than the Sword of Omens when it comes to pointless bickering with fans of l'Arse, Chelski, Liverpool and the like.

With the news that Eric Cantona wants to become the next French president, OTP turned its thoughts to the UK and potential candidates to become the next Prime Minister. 1. Steve Kean He has proven practical experience of tackling youth unemployment by offering jobs in Blackburn's defence. Plus, the British public have already demonstrated that [.

Should Tottenham fail to win their gimme game in hand, that hand will be wiping egg off that puffy face.

For those who don't support Tottenham, the frequently heard refrain of, "we've got such and such points, and when we win our game in hand..." got old a long time ago. At long last the fixture lost to the months-ago unpleasantness in London (August riots) will be resolved on Wednesday, and none too soon.

We broke the curse. That's all you need to know. Well, not really. Once again I'm taking you on a running diary odyssey of sorts. The madness, after the jump:

No Church in the Wild

Much like the last go around, I woke up on Saturday morning, broke out the laptop, and did my best to track the madness of the match in whatever fashion I could surmise.

The disturbances on the night of August 6th following a vigil for local man Mark Duggan, allegedly shot by police three days earlier, became the spark that ignited the most widespread and sustained civil disobedience in Britain since the early 80s. Yet Tottenham remains the area that has suffered the most.

Family stuff and that, so rather than bodge a post or two, I'll pause for breath, back this time next week, with the mouthwatering prospect of the north London derby. So many of their fans on the phone-ins expressing their dread at this fixture. Mmmm.

Plenty of the good stuff in the pipeline, including a revised and expanded version of my piece on Spurs and the riots that's in this month's When Saturday Comes magazine and an interview with legendary Spurs author Martin Cloake on Danny Blanchflower.

Europe's leading clubs have demanded a drastic cut in the number of international fixtures and a greater say in how the game is run.
The current calendar provides for 12 games a year but the European Club Association (ECA) wants a 50% cut.
"We would prefer six double dates over a two-year qualifying period," said ECA board member and Manchester United chief executive David Gill.

What are the odds Arsenal are Gunner finish in the top four? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day

North London was even easier to pillage over the weekend than it was three weeks ago. Victim of looting during the riots, on Sunday the pride of north London played like Luton.

The opening weekend of Serie A has been postponed due to a players strike in Italy. This is devastating news for fans of Serie A especially with a brand new season ready to kick off.

In addition to La Liga going on strike last week which caused the postponement of their opening weekend, both Italy and Spain should be embarrassed by the poor organization of these leagues.

Hillsborough petition shows some wounds cannot be healed by time | Ellie Mae O'Hagan

The truth about Hillsborough is obscured by a great knot of misinformation. We should take the opportunity to untangle it Last weekend I went to Liverpool – the place that was my home for most of my adult life.

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has urged his teammates to acknowledge the quality of Tottenham Hotspur as Harry Redknapp's men visit Old Trafford for this evening's mouth-watering clash with the champions.

The Spurs could not enjoy the excitement of a home opener at White Hart Lane last weekend as their match against Everton was called off due to riots in the area.

Yeah, if you could just run a few highlights through it, that would be perfect. Image: Oli Scarff/Getty Images/Daylife.

For several people in the area, the recent riots in London and beyond were significantly more than a news item. Many Londoners lost homes, businesses and livelihoods during the social unrest, and thousands of residents who don't feel the need to express themselves by breaking windows in chicken shops and stealing shoes have organised groups and fundraisers to help with the rebuild.

Mario's artistic side Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli might be a nutcase, but he is not a hypocrite. And he's also surprisingly media savvy. Well, that's one way of viewing his latest antics. City's players we given 'I ♥ MCR' t-shirts to show solidarity with the city in the wake of last week's riots.

Rioters took a 20-year-old hairdryer... look what they left!

Well-wishers have collected over £25,000 for 89-year-old barber Aaron Biber, whose Tottenham shop was wrecked and looted during last week's riots. The invaders took cotton wool, a kettle and a 20-year-old hairdryer.

Sneijder! Fabregas! G-Nev! Riots! Your 20 most-read stories this week

Relive the week's biggest and best stories on MirrorFootball.co.uk

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-08-13 12:52:59 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Have to say I liked the tone Ed Miliband took today on Radio4 (more and more he is impressing me recently), now is not the time for political point-scoring and I am wary of all the knee-jerking I am seeing since the riots began. We need to take time to listen to what places like Tottenham, Croydon and Clapham are telling is.

I am hearing a lot of criticism of the police as the dust settles in the wake of the recent riots. This strikes me as particularly knee-jerk and opportunistic. I saw a lot of scary scenes from the comfort of my front room and I saw a lot of people's lives being torn apart by thugs and criminals and mindless morons but the one thing I didn't see was police lounging round doing nothing.

Gadsby reports on the cancellation of the England vs. Holland fixture due to the riots in London

A brief synopsis of the latest injury chatter heading into the curtain-rasier this weekend (provided the riots don't prevent it from happening). More after the jump.

In Doubt?

So if we're lucky to get some footy this weekend, we may well be in a bit of a bind with some injuries key members of our squad are carrying.

By now you most surely have seen or heard about the riots in England, but as bad as the situation is, only one match on opening weekend of the Premier League has been postponed.

The Tottenham-Everton game scheduled to be played on Saturday has been pushed back to a further date yet unknown.

On Wednesday night, as Scotland held on for their essentially-meaningless-yet-pretty-damn-encouraging-all-the-blinking-same win against Denmark, I was locked in footballing discussions.
Scott Johnston of theFootyBlog.net asked me to join him and his co-host Brent Atema of GlobalFootballToday.

For months, the biggest question on the lips of every football fan around the world is whether the Weekend Soccer on Television entries will return to World Club Rankings even though the head office has moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Rest your worried mind, sports fans of all ages. We're back.

So what have we all learnt, well judging by the twitter, facebook and phone-ins we can certainly agree that people are very, very angry & shocked over what happened in the London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Salford, Bristol and West Brom. It is always a shame to see the surge of "Hang them high, birch them low" Daily Mail style knee-jerking but after what we've seen over the last week who am I to argue with them?

This Saturday's match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton has been postponed due to safety concerns stemming from the riots in London, England. "Following ongoing discussions with the necessary authorities regarding this weekend's Premier League...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.

Riots hit the top-flight The Premier League opener between Tottenham and Everton has been postponed because of ongoing worries about rioting in London. The decision was announced by Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore this morning (we're just surprised he didn't suggest the fixture be played in Malaysia).

By Chris Wright

Word on Pies Street is that the opening weekend Premier League tie between Tottenham and Everton has been cancelled due to the ongoing twattery in London.

The postponement is yet to be confirmed by either club or by the Premier League themselves but their are rumblings trickling down from some very high-ranking sources that the game at White Hart Lane will be shelved.

Everton midfielder Tim Cahill has called on the Premier League and the FA to postpone this weekend's opening round of Premier League fixtures. The Toffees are scheduled to open the season on Saturday in London as they face Tottenham, just blocks away from the location where the rioting began.

Riots have broken out all over England, and White Hart Lane appears to be the most at risk stadium this weekend.

Tim Cahill: Postpone all this week's games

Everton star says playing on after riots would ask too much of over-stretched emergency services

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-08-10 22:26:00 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Riots have broken out throughout UK with looting and violence, yet Eltham hasn't been touched and it's not by luck. Millwall fans have long been known for their hooliganism and... Read more »

Finally, all of the riots and Cesc saga were worth it in the end, simply for this alone.

[Ranting Mad]

Gomes: Spurs stars are living in fear after riots

Club warn players to stay in their homes as Pavlyuchenko bans his wife from returning to UK

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-08-10 22:01:27 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Bernie Ecclestone: Premier League matches should go ahead despite riots

Bernie Ecclestone has warned that cancelling games in London on the opening weekend of the Premier League season will send a damaging message around the world.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-08-10 21:47:09 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Plenty to talk about today having something to actually discuss might take some getting used to, but it's a welcomed change as the action picks up, both for Liverpool and our sliver of the internet around here.

The Thursday news and notes:

* Noel mentioned the cancellation of the England v.

The long awaited Premier League return is in jeopardy after the recent spate of riots most notably in the capital and in other major cities. 16,000 police officers are currently situated on the streets of London leaving not enough officers to patrol football matches across the land. Several midweek Carling Cup fixtures were already cancelled, [.

Steven Gerrard and Kenny Dalglish condemn riots

Both Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard have called for calm following the unrest throughout the country during the week as England braced itself for a fifth night of rioting.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-08-10 17:18:46 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Luis Suarez Fit to Face Sunderland

Liverpool's Luis Suarez has trained with the Liverpool squad after returning from his holidays, and is fit to face Sunderland at the weekend. Suarez helped Uruguay to Copa America glory earlier this summer and took a short break before returning to training this week.