Egyptian fans bring chaos to London as they battle with police and climb on double decker bus to celebrate team’s World Cup win
Fans celebrating Egypt’s historic World Cup victory brought chaos to the streets of London by clashing with police, boarding a double-decker bus and bringing traffic to a standstill.
Edgware Road was thrown into anarchy on Friday night as hundreds of fans flocked to the street to celebrate Egypt’s dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Australia.
But as the celebrations intensified, the busy road in north-west London turned into chaos and police were called to the scene at 9.57pm.
Dramatic images at the scene show police officers wrestling with topless fans, the crowd dispersed along the road, traffic came to a complete standstill and the slogan ‘Free Palestine’ echoed on the street.
In a tense confrontation, two police officers struggle with a fan as screaming fans surround the struggle and other revelers push him away.
As music echoed in the background, fans milled around stranded vehicles, including a number of buses, with some choosing to climb on top of them.
Further down the road, topless fans climbed onto the roof of a double-decker bus, waving Egyptian flags as they shouted to the cheering and whistling crowd below.
Meanwhile, a 41-year-old man was taken to hospital after a hit-and-run in the street after the car passed through a crowd.
Dramatic footage from the scene showed police officers wrestling with shirtless fans as the crowd dispersed along the road.
Topless fans climbed onto the roof of the double-decker bus, waving Egyptian flags and shouting at the cheering and whistling crowd below.
As music echoed in the background, fans milled around stranded vehicles, including a number of buses, with some choosing to climb on top of them.
Long known as ‘Little Cairo’, Edgware Road is famous for its links to Egypt, with numerous Middle Eastern and Arabic cafes and shisha bars lining the street; most of these would view the game.
The celebrations began as Egypt secured their first World Cup qualifying victory since 1934, defeating Australia 4-2 on penalties after kick-off at 18:00 GMT at Dallas Stadium.
Elsewhere on Edgware Road, footage captured the moment a gray 4×4 car drove through a crowd, many of whom were celebrating, still wearing Egyptian football team jerseys.
While the vehicle was trying to move forward on the crowded street, fans jumped on its hood and blocked it.
A few seconds later, the car collided with a man with a backpack while crossing the road, leaving the man motionless in the middle of the road. Undeterred, the car continued to move forward on the road.
While the surrounding people quickly ran to help the injured driver, others who helped him to his feet ran after the fleeing driver to catch him.
The 41-year-old victim, who was taken to the hospital by the emergency service, was treated for a suspected fracture in his arm.
The Metropolitan Police said no arrests were made at the scene.
The footage captured the moment a gray 4×4 car passed through a section of the crowd where many people were celebrating wearing Egyptian football team jerseys.
A few seconds later, the car collided with a man with a backpack while crossing the road, leaving the man motionless in the middle of the road.
While the people around ran to the aid of the injured victim and helped him to his feet, others ran after the fleeing driver to catch him.
Meanwhile, in America, national treasure and captain Mohammed Salah, nicknamed the ‘King of Egypt’, burst into tears after Egypt made history.
They join Morocco in the last 16, which also marks the first time two African nations have won a knockout match in a single World Cup.
The result for Australia was their third defeat in as many World Cup qualifying matches.
With the Socceroos returning home, Egypt will be drawn against either Argentina or Cape Verde in the last 16 in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 7 at 17:00 BST.
A spokesman for the Met said: ‘Police were called to reports of a disturbance on Edgware Road at 9.57pm on Friday, July 3.
Police teams arrived at the scene where approximately 1000 people gathered on the road.
‘The 41-year-old man who collided with the car was taken to hospital with suspicion of a broken arm.
‘The group was dispersed safely and no arrests were made at the scene.
Investigations are ongoing, including reviewing CCTV to detect any wrongdoing.
‘If you are a witness, please call 101 quoting reference number 8981/03JUL.’
