1 | CAIRO (AP) - Chanting slogans, carrying signs and waving flares, these eager young men who gather in Egypt could be mistaken for Arab Spring demonstrators. |
2 | And in this country, the recently-banned hardcore soccer fans known as ultras have played a political role. |
3 | Ultras, whose name comes from the Latin word for "beyond," started in Latin America and Europe in the 1950s before coming to Arab countries. |
4 | The first to form in Egypt, Ultras White Knights, emerged in 2007 to support the Zamalek team. |
5 | Groups backing archrival al-Ahly and others followed. |
6 | Security forces and the media criticize ultras as being little more than violence-prone thugs. |
7 | It was during Egypt's 2011 revolt that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak that ultras first took on a political role. |
8 | Often providing muscle at protests, ultras also directed demonstrators and led chants. |
9 | They were considered one of the most organized movements in Egypt after the Muslim Brotherhood, which the government outlawed as a terrorist organization following the 2013 military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. |
10 | Since 2011, ultras have clashed frequently with police. |
11 | In 2012, a soccer riot involving ultras killed more than 70 people and injured hundreds. |
12 | In May, a Cairo court banned them over terrorism accusations. |
13 | The case was filed by Mortada Mansour, the head of Zamalek who has long been at odds with his team's own ultras. |
14 | White Knights leader Sayed Moshagheb is in jail on incitement charges. |
15 | Observers have said Egypt's ultras see themselves as offering marginalized youth a chance to vent pent-up frustration through peaceful protests, as opposed to apathy or violence. |
16 | Here are a series of Associated Press photographs of Egypt's hardcore soccer fans known as ultras. |