(PLO)- Iraq won the Gulf Cup, marking the return of football to this country, but disaster happened…
Host Iraq won the Gulf Cup 2023 – Arabian Gulf Cup. However, crowds of spectators jostled outside the field leading to a deadly stampede.
The 2023 Arab Gulf Cup tournament marks history as Iraq has returned to football. For a long time, Iraq has not been able to play at home due to the unstable security situation. However, now Iraq has been hosting the international tournament once more.
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The crowd outside the Al Mina stadium…waiting to enter, but the courtyard was already filled with spectators. Photo: AFP |
The Iraqi city of Basra is the venue for most of the matches from the opening to the closing of the Gulf Cup. However, in the final match between hosts Iraq and Oman, at the end of the match outside thousands of people smashed, demanding to release the gate to flood into the field.
Al Mina Stadium has sold tickets for more than 50,000 people to watch the final, but the demand from fans is too great. The organizers and Basra City government have installed dozens of large screens in all public places, squares in Basra and around the outside of Al Mina stadium for spectators to watch live.
The match was too dramatic with the chase for the score, in the end the host Iraq beat Oman 3-2 to win the championship. Thousands of fans were eager to get inside to watch the two teams compete. And tragedy happened when the crowds lost control, jostled, trampled each other, causing dozens of injuries to be taken to hospitals and a fan died because of being trampled by the crowd.
This is Iraq’s latest Gulf Cup win since 1988. It is also the first time Iraq has won an international tournament since the surprise Asian Cup triumph in 2007, which included three victories. -0 once morest Vietnam in the quarterfinals.
Duy Duc
