A stampede during a World Cup qualifying soccer match in the Ivory Coast leaves 19 dead and over 100 more injured.
Hello, I’m Charlotte Bellis and you’re watching Newsy.com.
Ivory Coast officials estimate as many as 15,000 fans turned up without tickets to watch the Ivory Coast play Malawi at the Houphouet-Boigny Stadium.
An eyewitness report given to the BBC by an engineer from Abidjan, describes the situation.
“We saw [the policemen and the football federation] take money from people to let them enter the stadium - people who did not have tickets.” (BBC)
He goes on to say:
“They tried to force entry. That's when the policemen arrived with tear gas. In the panic, there were lots of people running in every direction. Some died because they didn't have anywhere to run.” (BBC)
French channel Infosport talked to striker Didier Drogba - one of the European-based players playing in the game - about the incident.
“Football is nothing; you are talking about the death of 19 people, and that is hard to take. It makes you realize how much people care about their country. Peace to them, it is sad.” (Infosport)
The Zimbabwean reports Danny Jordaan, organizer of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, attempted to calm fears of a similar incident at his nation’s tournament saying…
“As a nation we host major sporting events on an almost weekly basis and have some of the best security personnel in the world working on this project to ensure that the safety of all those who attend the matches is guaranteed.” (The Zimbabwean)
The Times of London adds that Jordaan said a similar incident “is impossible”.
In a New York Times article headlined ‘Soccer Tries to Shrug Off Another Deadly Tragedy’ the paper condemns FIFA’s lack of action to stadium tragedies. The reporter goes on to say…
“We cannot, or should not, tolerate a world in which a parent is called to the morgue to identify children who went to support their team, and never returned.” (The New York Times)
Should governing bodies do more to ensure fan safety at sporting events? Do you think this event will affect the upcoming World Cup in South Africa?
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