“The tear gas caused suffocation and led to the stampede.”
Fans were further outraged as the match continued despite the unrest.
The clashes prompted the government to suspend the Egyptian Premier League indefinitely.
What happened on Sunday was a “disaster for Egyptian sport”, said Khaled al-Mortagy, a former board member of the Al-Ahly club.
“Matches are being played behind closed doors. This is leading fans to be against the police. It’s becoming a culture. If you can’t secure a match, how can you secure the country?”
The 2012 Port Said riots erupted after a match between the Al-Ahly and Al-Masry clubs.
Sunday’s match had been open to the public, unlike most other games between Egyptian clubs since the Port Said riots, the country’s worst-ever sport disaster.
The interior ministry had restricted to 10,000 the number of spectators allowed into the stadium on Sunday.
Thousands of fans without tickets scaled the stadium walls before police dispersed them, officials said.
Experts predicted tense days ahead.
“Tension could rise further if the government decides… to re-impose a ban on spectators attending soccer matches,” said James Dorsey, an expert on Middle East soccer at the Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
The incident also dashed hopes that Sisi’s government “may adopt a less brutal approach to its civil society opponents,” he said.
More than 1,400 people have died in a government crackdown targeting supporters of president Mohamed Morsi since he was ousted by then army chief Sisi in July 2013.
Sunday’s deaths could inflame football fans, who have repeatedly clashed with police in recent years and can bring thousands to the streets.
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