January 19, 2023, 8:08 AM
January 19, 2023, 8:08 AM
One person died and “dozens” were injured Thursday in a Stampede outside a football stadium in Iraq where the final of the Gulf Cup will be played, reported medical and security sources.
Thousands of fans without tickets crowded from early morning in front of the doors of the Basra stadium (south) hoping to attend the match between Iraq and Oman that should start at 7:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT and 12:00 HB ).
“There is one death and dozens of minor injuries”said a medical source who requested anonymity.
An official from the Ministry of the Interior confirmed the balance, explaining that the crowd was due to “a large number of fans, in particular people without entrance tickets, who gathered since morning and tried to enter” the stadium.
According to an AFP photographer inside the sports complex, the gates were closed when the stampede took place. he said he heard sirens of numerous ambulances arrivals to help the wounded.
In photos published on social networks, it can be seen how a human tide tries to reach the stadium.
“Urgent Meeting”
Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani announced that he was traveling to the scene of the event, according to a statement from his office.
He presided over “an urgent meeting in the presence of certain ministers and the governor of Basra”, organized “to discuss the special measures for the final of the 25th Gulf Cup”, according to the same source.
The Iraqi army called in a statement for Iraqis to “respect the instructions” regarding security regarding access to the stadiums, in order to “close the championship in a civilized manner that honors Iraq.”
This country battered by four decades of conflict, bet strongly on the 25th Soccer Gulf Cup in Basra to recover his image, after years without being able to organize international matches due to security conditions.
It is the first time since 1979 that the Gulf Cup, a biennial event, has been held on Iraqi soil.
But various logistical problems have cast a shadow over the tournament since the opening ceremony two weeks ago. Thousands of fans were refused entry, some of them in possession of ticketsand correctly accredited journalists for no precise reason.
The tournament brings together eight countries (Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates) and Iraq managed to qualify for the final, to be held on Thursday night (4:00 p.m. GMT) against Oman.
Both countries already met during the opening day in the group stage on January 8 (0-0), before which there was a altercation between twenty people in the VIP area of the Basra International Stadium.
Iraq has suffered bloody stampedes in the past. The last one caused 31 deaths and a hundred injured in September 2019 in Karbala, during the Shiite Ashura pilgrimage, south of Baghdad.
