The Worst Disasters In Football

• June 28,2019
• -
• Asher K

The Worst Disasters In Football

The National Stadium Disaster

Over 300 people died in what has been called the one of the worst disasters in the history of football. On the 24thof May 1964, Peru a match took place between Peru and Argentina at Estadio Nacional in Lima. It was an important game for both teams, as South America’s qualifying rounds for The Tokyo Olympics were underway.

Peru was second on the table, and their next match was against Brazil, so winning this game was their top priority.

The stadium was filled, the majority of the audience being Brazilian fans, but to their disappointment, Argentina took the lead 1-0. With only a few minutes remaining, Brazil scored, but the referee declared it a foul and disallowed it. This caused fans to become very upset, and a violent riot quickly ensued.

They began to rush the field, and to disperse the crowd, police officials launched tear gas and released dogs into the masses. Panic-stricken spectators attempted to escape through the stairwell, only to find out that the exit gates were locked.

Amidst all the chaos and hysteria, a human crush occurred, with several people dying of asphyxia and internal hemorrhaging.

Kathmandu Stadium Disaster

Ninety-three people died and over a 100 were injured on 12th March 1998, at the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, in Kathmandu, Nepal, during a football match between Janakpur Cigarette Factory Ltd and Liberation Army of Bangladesh. The teams were competing for the Tribhuvan Challenge Shield.

This was Nepal's go-to venue for most football matches, and around 30,000 people attended the match.

On the day, despite it being a significantly sunny afternoon, an unexpected hailstorm occurred, with lightning and high winds. Panic surged throughout the crowd, and they attempted to flee but were beaten or pushed back by police. Out of the eight exits, only one was open.

As people rushed through to escape, many were crushed and lost their lives. Ironically, officially has plans to postpone the match due to gloomy weather conditions in the morning, but decided against it later that afternoon, as conditions improved. It is, to date, Nepal's worst sports-related disaster.

Hillsborough disaster

Tragedy stuck on April 15th, 1989, during a match between two solid teams, Nottingham Forest Liverpool, at the Hillsborough Stadium, in Sheffield, England. It was the FA Cup semi-final, and like any football match of this nature, the steaks were incredibly high, and the fans were very passionate about the favorite club.

Hillsborough was seen as neutral ground, and steps were taken to ensure that Liverpool supporters do not cross paths with Nottingham fans and they were allotted different stands, as hooliganism was rampant, and opposing sides would often break out into fights.

Police negligence and mismanagement, however, led to overcrowding, and some turnstiles were closed off with the hope to ease the crowd. This strategy did not work, and people continued to pour in, and the stadium was filled way past its capacity, with Liverpool supporters outnumbering their rivals. A large number of fans waiting outside, attempting to force their way in.

The police opened up an exit gate, and thongs of people rushed in, into an already, very overcrowded pen. A human crush occurred, people in the front were pinned against each other, and the barrier that separated them from the field. It was so over packed, that people couldn't even raise their arms, or breathe.

On that day, 96 people died of compressive asphyxia, and 766 were injured. Police were slow to respond and blamed rowdy Liverpool fans for the incidence.

But 28 years later, after multiple probes and investigations, it was concluded that the crash was caused by police negligence and the match commander for that day, David Duckenfield, and five other people were charged with manslaughter.

 

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