Supporters of Zamalek SC, the second biggest club in the city, were reportedly trying to gain access to the Air Defense stadium for their match with rivals ENPPI without tickets, which caused the police to fire tear gas and shotgun pellets at fans.

People were killed after a stampede ensured, while others lost their lives as a result of choking and asphyxiation.

Survivors have claimed, however, that policed opened fire on fans who did have tickets to the match, yet the Interior Ministry have an altogether different version of events.

They said fans had "attempted to storm the stadium gates by force, which prompted police to prevent them from continuing the assault" which was the main cause of the horrific stampede that followed.

The supporters have laid the blame solely on the police after they claimed they were forced through a tight passageway surrounded by fences and that fans were pelted with pellets and tear gas while the crowd were hemmed in to the caged-in corridor.

"[The] iron cage inside which most people died was installed a day before the match and it has never been used in any country of the world," Zambalek supporters group the White Knights said on Facebook.

The incident proved to be another dark day in Egyptian history following the riot in Port Said in 2012 that killed 74 fans ©Getty Images



Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who expressed "great sorrow" over the events in the country's capital,  has called for an inquiry into the incident.

The exact death toll has not been confirmed, with a leading Egyptian newspaper believing it to be as high as 30, while the Health Ministry claim it to be closer to 19.

Despite all the chaos before the match, the game itself strangely went ahead as normal.

The violence represents yet another dark day in Egypt's history, and it is the second time the Egyptian Premier League has had to be suspended after 74 fans were killed in a riot in a match between al-Ahly SC and al-Masry in February 2012.

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