Injured goalkeeper watched fans die

A goalkeeper injured in Egypt's horror football pitch invasion has told reporters he 'won't play soccer anymore' after watching supporters die in front of him.

At least 74 people were killed and hundreds injured after fans invaded the pitch in Port Said after an upset win by the home team, al-Masry over Egypt's top club Al-Ahly.

The goalkeeper for Al-Ahly, Sharif Ikram was injured in the violence and told reporters that the locker room was virtually turned into a morgue for the dead.

"There were people dying in front of us," he said.

"It's over. We've all made a decision that we won't play soccer any more. How will we play soccer after 70 people died? We can't think about it."

The violence started during the second half of the match, but boiled over when thousands of supporters of the home side stormed the pitch and started assaulting the visiting players and their fans.

Knives and Molotov cocktails were used to attack rival supporters and players, while there are rumours that some people were literally thrown from the stadium's stands.

It is though that many of the deaths were caused by concussions, deep head wounds and suffocation.

In an interview with the team's station, Mohammed Abu Trika, a player with Al-Ahly, criticised police for standing by and not intervening in the violence.

"People here are dying and no one is doing a thing. It's like a war," he told the team TV station.

He also posed the question: "Is life this cheap?"

The pitch invasion is one of the worst cases of football violence in Egypt and the deadliest in the world since 2001 when around 126 people were killed in a stampede at Accra's main stadium in Ghana when police fired teargas at rioting fans.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was "shocked and saddened" by the deaths in a statement released after the incident.

"This is a black day for football. Such a catastrophic situation is unimaginable and should not happen," he added.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the deaths, but it is thought that the resulting loss of life is entirely down to the fans, and not the stadium.