Iraq: one dead and dozens injured in a stampede in front of a stadium

One person died and “dozens” were injured Thursday in a stampede outside a soccer stadium in Iraq where the final of the Gulf Cup will be played, reported medical and security sources.

After several hours of confusion, calm returned to the area around the stadium in the early afternoon, according to the Interior Ministry.

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Hours earlier, in the morning, thousands of fans without tickets crowded from early morning in front of the gates of the Basra stadium (south) hoping to attend the match between Iraq and Oman, which should start at 7:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT).

“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 from numerous ambulances arriving to help the injured.

In photos published on social networks, it can be seen how a human tide tries to reach the stadium.

During the afternoon, calm gradually returned to the surroundings of the stadium, with a capacity of up to 65,000 spectators, thanks to the dispersion of the fans, Saad Maan, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told AFP.

The Iraqi Football Federation later confirmed that the match would take place at 18:00 GMT.

The fans entered the building and the gates “were closed”, with no possibility of anyone else entering according to Interior. In the stands, fans are already waving the red, white and black Iraqi flag in anticipation of their team’s match against Oman.

Injured soccer spectators are taken to an emergency area at the Basra International Stadium after a stampede ahead of tonight’s Arabian Gulf Cup final match between Iraq and Oman, on January 19, 2023 in Basra. (Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE /)

“urgent meeting”

Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani went to the scene of the event, according to a statement from his office.

He chaired “an urgent meeting in the presence of certain ministers and the governor of Basra,” organized “to discuss 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, to “close the championship in a civilized manner that honors Iraq”.

This country, battered by four decades of conflict, bet heavily on the 25th Gulf Soccer Cup in Basra to recover its 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, some of them in possession of tickets, and properly accredited journalists were refused entry 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, which should be held on Thursday night (16h00 GMT) against Oman.

Both countries already met during the opening day in the group stage on January 8 (0-0), before which there was an altercation between about twenty people in the VIP area of ​​the Basra International Stadium.

Iraq has suffered in the past bloody stampedes. The last one caused 31 deaths and a hundred injured in September 2019 in Karbala, during the Shiite Ashura pilgrimage, south of Baghdad.

Source: Elcomercio