Sixteen crushed in stampede before World Cup warm-up

TEMBISA: A stampede outside a World Cup warm-up match left 16 people injured yesterday, including two police officers, as the challenges facing organisers were brought into focus days before the tournament kicks off.

The victims were crushed outside the gates as ticketless fans tried to force their way into the Makhulong stadium in Tembisa township, east of Johannesburg, where Nigeria was playing North Korea in a friendly.

The incident in the build-up to the game came just hours after South African President Jacob Zuma and FIFA chief Sepp Blatter announced everything was ready for the tournament – the first World Cup to be played on African soil.

“It would seem that there was some confusion among the crowd as to the ticketing system, which led to disruptive behaviour on the part of the crowd,” said a police statement.

“One police official was seriously wounded when he was trampled by the crowd, one police official was slightly injured but remained on duty and the emergency medical services reported that 14 spectators were transported to hospital with minor injuries. The police official is in a stable condition.”

Speaking at the ground, police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Eugene Opperman said 8000 free tickets had been distributed ahead of the match but other fans who were without tickets had tried to push their way in.

Colonel Opperman said it appeared the behaviour of some of the fans had been fuelled by alcohol. “It is the weekend and a time when many people consume liquor,” he said.

Johannesburg and the surrounding areas are home to large numbers of Nigerian expatriates and about a third of the fans inside the stadium appeared to be supporters of the Super Eagles.

The crush happened about an hour before kick-off, although news filtered through only after the match had started. At one stage, the game was halted for about five minutes but there was no announcement of the reason and the players remained on the pitch. The game continued under a heavy police presence with Nigeria winning 3-1.

The episode served as a sharp reminder of the challenges facing the tournament, which begins on Friday, and evoked ugly memories of previous crowd trouble in South Africa.

Forty-three people were killed in 2001 when ticketless fans tried to barge their way into the Soweto derby between the Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, which was being played at Ellis Park, a stadium in Johannesburg that is one of the 10 venues for the tournament.

In March last year in Abidjan, a stampede killed 19 fans during a World Cup qualifying match between Ivory Coast and Malawi.

Makhulong, an all-terrace former first division ground which is not regularly used these days, is not one of the World Cup venues.

FIFA, football’s world governing body, was quick to make clear that it was not involved in the organisation of the unofficial warm-up game.