The soccer riot in Port Said, Egypt, in which 74 people were killed, has startled the world. But conditions that led to the riot were present both inside and outside the stadium, given the rising public anger over lawlessness and collapsing security a year after Egypt's uprising, says an article in Qilu Evening News. Excerpts:

Soccer has always been associated with passion and joy. Supporters of losing teams have always felt sad and those of winners elated. More often than not supporters of losing home teams have started soccer riots, but the Port Said riot was incited by home supporters whose team had actually won.

Authoritative media reports show that the security for the match in Port Said was far from adequate. Many of the deaths and injuries were caused by sharp-edged tools, showing the slack pre-match security inspection and the lack of a contingency emergency plan needed to quell a riot.

Soccer riots have taken place both in developed and developing countries and most of them have occurred because of lack of proper security arrangements rather than the outcome of the matches.

The fact that supporters of the winning home team started the riot in Port Said, which then spread to other Egyptian cities, shows chaos can bring huge destruction to a country.

Egypt's deadly soccer riot should be a lesson for other countries and regions.

(China Daily 02/08/2012 page9)