Soccer fans storm Cairo stadium ahead of match

Some 2,000 soccer fans stormed Cairo’s main stadium Saturday ahead of a rare match that supporters are allowed to attend, Egypt’s Interior Ministry said.

Security officials said they managed to expel fans from the stadium, confiscating 10 bags containing fireworks and banners. The fans entered after a truck broke through a stadium gate, they added.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

The match_the CAF Confederation Cup championship between Egyptian club Al Ahly and the Ivory Coast’s Sewe Sport_is still set to be played as scheduled, the officials said.

It will be the first time a team from either country has won the club title.

Prior to the storming, the Ministry of Interior released a statement asking fans to cooperate with police securing the match.

Al-Ahly supporters known as Ultras, who are deeply politicized, frequently clash with police inside and outside of stadiums. Many participated in the country’s 2011 uprising that forced out President Hosni Mubarak.

After an outbreak of stadium violence in 2012, most Al-Ahly matches have been closed to the public. During a match that year in Port Said, 74 people, most Al -Ahly fans, were killed in a riot.