The most recent disaster in soccer stadiums in Indonesia occurred on October 1.
The stampede of fans inside a soccer stadium in Indonesia, which has killed 125 people so far, is one of the worst sporting disasters.
But the events at Kanjuruhan Stadium in East Java province on Saturday share more than just a massive loss of life with previous tragedies. A common theme in stadium disasters is the failure of crowd control measures to protect spectators.
Here we review the most prominent disasters that occurred in football stadiums:
The Peruvian National Stadium disaster of 1964
photo released, Peruvian Institute of Sport
More than 300 people died at the Peruvian National Stadium in 1964
More than 300 people died due to the chaos that occurred during a match between Peru and Argentina, after the referee decided not to award a goal to the hosts.
Peruvian fans stormed the stadium during that match, which was a qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, and the police responded by firing tear gas at the fans at the National Stadium in Lima, which caused the fans to rush towards the gates designated to exit the stadium, but it was closed.
The official death toll is 328, but the actual number may be higher, because the official number does not include anyone who was shot dead as a result of clashes between fans and security forces outside the stadium.
BBC sports correspondent Piers Edwards wrote an article in 2014 marking the fiftieth anniversary of the tragedy that is still ranked as the worst of its kind in the world, saying: “There are many eyewitness accounts of people who died as a result of gunshot wounds, but the judge The one assigned to investigate the disaster, Benjamin Castaneda, was never able to find the bodies to prove it.”
Jorge Azambuga, the police chief who issued the order to fire the tear gas, was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
The 2001 Accra Sports Stadium disaster, Ghana
photo released, Getty Images
The Ghana disaster in 2001 claimed the lives of more than 120 people
The derby match between Hearts of Oak and Ashanti Kotoko, two very popular teams in Ghana, was plunged into chaos in May 2001 after Ashanti Kotoko fans rioted in response to the opposing team’s success in turning the scoreline in The last minutes of the match.
Police responded with tear gas and crowds rushed to the exit gates, but they were closed. At least 126 people were killed as a result of the stampede in what is considered the worst disaster in African football to date.
Ghana’s then-deputy sports minister, Joe Agrey, told the BBC: “I saw young men, strong men, dead on the ground. I am completely devastated. I couldn’t count (the dead).”
An official investigation blamed the police and accused them of overreaction. Six police officers were charged with manslaughter, but were acquitted in a 2003 trial, a decision that the Ghanaian public largely believes is correct, according to Paul Adom Otechiri, a reporter. The local radio station “Joey FM”, who was in court at the time of the verdict.
Following the ruling, he told the BBC: “What the public wants is a trial for those who built the stadium, the building inspector who said the stadium was safe to use, and the people who closed the exit gates (on the day of the disaster).”
Hillsborough disaster, UK in 1989
photo released, Getty Images
The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 was a watershed moment in British and European football
It is one of the worst and most controversial football disasters in the world. Poor crowd control ahead of the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest led to the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans at the heavily fenced Hillsborough stadium.
Andrew Devine suffered life-changing injuries in this stampede, and died at the age of 55 in 2021, bringing the death toll to 97.
Initially, police and sections of the British media blamed the fans for disorderly conduct under the influence of alcohol. But a series of investigations over the next three decades refuted those accusations.
In 2016, a jury concluded that the victims were unlawfully killed, and found that fans did not contribute to their deaths.
The Dasarat Stadium disaster in Nepal in 1988
A sudden snow storm caused a stampede of large numbers of fans who were watching a match in the local cup in the Nepalese capital in March 1988.
People rushed to take cover under the only part of the stadium with a roof, but were pushed back by the police, and fans ran towards the exit gates, which were closed.
The stampede that followed killed dozens. Official statistics put the death toll at 70, but Nepalese media say about 93 people may have died.
“The shoes of the dead and wounded were scattered everywhere,” Anil Rubakheti, a former player who was on the field that day, told the Kathmandu Post in 2020.
disaster stadium Port Said, Egypt in 2012
photo released, Getty Images
Security forces were accused of allowing the attack on Al-Ahly fans at Port Said Stadium in 2012
A match in the Egyptian League between Al-Masry and Al-Ahly clubs ended in bloodshed in Port Said in February 2012. After winning three goals to one, Al-Masry fans stormed the areas designated for Al-Ahly fans in the stadium. The massive riots killed 74 people and injured more than 500 others.
More than 70 people were charged, including nine police officers, 47 were convicted and sentenced, some to death.
A segment of Al-Ahly fans, known as the “Ultras”, played a prominent role in the protests against President Hosni Mubarak in early 2011, which led to his ouster.
Fans accused Mubarak supporters of inciting violence in Port Said in retaliation, and asserted that the police had done little to prevent the disaster.
“I still have nightmares because of what happened that night and the horrific scenes I witnessed,” Fabio Junior, the Brazilian footballer who played with Al-Ahly and was on the field that day, told ESPN in 2019.
The Luzhniki Stadium disaster in Russia in 1982
The Luzhniki Stadium in the Russian capital, Moscow, which hosted the last World Cup final in 2018, was also the scene of a major football tragedy that had been covered up for years.
Nearly 40 years ago, during the Soviet era, a stampede at the end of a Europa League match between Spartak Moscow and Dutch club Haarlem killed dozens of fans of the home side.
The official death toll (66) was only revealed in 1989 – previously there were only brief indications of an “accident”.
Eyewitnesses reported that the fans were crowded in one part of the stadium, as there was little attendance on the day of the match due to the freezing weather.
“One of the exit gates was open to facilitate police control over the fans. It was a huge mistake,” Alexander Profstov, a Russian journalist who attended the match, told Al Jazeera.