CAIRO, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Protests held by an Egyptian group of Cairo-based football fans on Salah Salem road leading to Cairo International Airport hindered U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who wraps up his two-day visit to Egypt, from catching his plane on time, state-run al-Ahram online reported Sunday.
Sources said Kerry's private plane was supposed to take off at 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), but the march of the Utras Ahlawy groups created traffic jam and blocked the road leading to the airport.
The Utras protests blocked the road completely after some of the protesters set fire to some car tires, making passengers to leave cars and hurry on foot to catch their flights.
The march was held to pressure the court for a favorable verdict on March 9 in a soccer riot case that killed over 70 people, mostly Cairo football fans, in Port Said last year.
In January, an Egyptian criminal court issued death sentences against 21 convicts involved in the case, while the verdicts on the rest of defendants are scheduled to be issued on March 9.
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