There have been a lot of sick sights at soccer stadiums over the years, but the ones in Port Said, Egypt on Feb. 1 could possibly have been the worst of all. At least 74 people died while hundreds more were injured when thousands of fans rushed the field and rioted after a league game between home team Al-Masry and the visiting Al-Ahly club.

Many fans suffocated to death in a narrow exit corridor which led to a locked gate while others were stabbed or beaten with clubs and stones as there was no escape route out of the stadium. Incredibly, thousands of fans were able to take flares, knives and other weapons to the game and many Egyptians have blamed the country’s police and armed forces for doing nothing to stop the mayhem and mass murder.

Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri called an emergency session in parliament the day after the incident and dissolved the board of the nation’s soccer federation. It was also reported that the region’s police chief and governor have resigned and several soccer players announced they were leaving the sport. Also, Manuel Jose, the manager of Al-Ahly has reportedly asked the club to tear up his contract so he can return to his homeland of Portugal.

Several Egyptian lawmakers said the lack of police control was intentional and there were political overtones to the attack. Some people accused police of letting the riot take place to gain some sort of revenge against Al-Ahly soccer hooligans, who have been active protestors against the government there since former President Hosni Mubarak fell from power last February.

Supporters of Al-Ahly protested violently a year ago and it led to the police force collapsing. Recently they have clashed with the army in an attempt to put an end to Egyptian military rule. Thousands of protestors took to the streets a day after the rioting and parts of Tahrir Square were sealed off. This also resulted in clashes between security forces and protestors.

All hell broke loose on live television after the game in which Al-Masry won 3-1. Instead of celebrating the rare victory over one of the country’s best team’s Al-Masry fans stormed the field with weapons and chased opposing players and fans who attempted to escape via stadium exits, but found the doors were locked when they got there.

They were trapped there with thousands of opposing fans behind them and no way out. Witnesses said that’s where many people suffocated, were trampled or were murdered. Some others fell to their deaths from bleachers.

As the violent scenes were taking place, most of the riot police on hand just stood and watched. The stadium lights were turned off at one point and the violence carried on in the darkness. One policeman was killed while more than a dozen were injured and close to 50 arrests were made.

After the chaos politicians were pointing their fingers at each other while the Ultras, a group of soccer fans, said the police and military wanted to punish them for their role in last year’s uprising and protests. Many Ultras felt they were abused under Mubarak’s regime and have recently taken to sing anti-police songs at soccer games.

It was reported there were approximately 22,000 fans at the game with 2,000 of them supporting the visitors. Egypt has declared three days of mourning. While trouble was flaring in at the game in Port Said, a fire was set at another game in Cairo, but it’s unclear if the incidents were related.

Whether the killings were the result of organized political groups or soccer hooligans, it’s beyond belief that in this day and age people are able to take weapons into a stadium without going through security checks. The first thing all leagues around the world need to do is ban the ridiculous flares that are often set off during games. It’s not going to end the violence, but at least it’s a start.

British police announced recently that they’ve already arrested about 100 criminals for selling fake Olympic tickets and hotel rooms ahead of this summer’s Games in London. Britain is faced with its biggest-ever security operation this year with thousands of visitors expected for the Olympics. Theresa May, the British Home Secretary, said that 97 people have been arrested after being involved in the ticket scams, building fake Olympic 2012 websites, and selling hotel rooms that don’t exist.

The Games are scheduled to take place from July 27 to Aug. 12 and demand for tickets and hotels as been enormous. Some hotels are charging up to $1,000 a night in parts of London. However, May said that the arrests are sending out a clear message to organized criminals and they’re going to be prosecuted if they try to deceive fans and visitors.

London police announced that the tickets being sold in the scam were all fake and some criminals were creating fake websites that were selling non-existent tickets and hotel rooms as packages. Their main concern before the Games though is trying to organize effective security. Britain became the first western European nation to suffer al Qaida terrorism when suicide bombers attacked London’s transit network in 2005, which resulted in the deaths of 52 people. The attack came just 24 hours after it was announced that the city had won the bid for the 2012 Olympics.

The 1972 Olympic attack in Munich, Germany is also in the back of their minds as 11 Israeli coaches and athletes were killed in that incident. British Intelligence has said there haven’t been any specific threats to this summer’s Games as of yet, but the level of level will be listed as severe. The nation’s police, MI5 (domestic spy agency), MI6 (foreign intelligence agency), and military are all being employed to secure the event from possible terrorism. They’ll also be helped by the FBI and Interpol and over 20,000 guards will be hired for extra security.

Scotland Yard said a lot of energy will be focused on counterterrorism procedures and unofficial events such as celebrations and concerts also need to be properly supervised. The Yard said people will still be allowed to protest during the Olympics, but any type of protest camps won’t be allowed. The security teams are already training, but there have been a couple of snags already. It was reported that British police we able to sneak a fake bomb into Olympic Park recently during a trial run and a police officer actually left Olympic security documents on a train.

Officials, of course, said the documents weren’t that sensitive and the public has nothing to worry about. Other training procedures in London have seen police and the military boarding vessels sailing down the River Thames. They are also trying out a device that entangles the propellers of boats and ships to stop them. The Ministry of Defence said 13,500 members of the Armed Forces will help patrol the Games, including bomb-disposal experts, and they’ll be using sophisticated helicopters, Typhoon fighter jets, and a pair of warships for security during the event.

Britain already uses a huge network of CCTV cameras for security and they’ll be adding thousands more to Olympic venues. It’s believed there are already close to 4.5 million cameras in use in the nation. The real test will begin a couple of weeks before the Games begin when athletes and spectators start to arrive.