Deadly stampede overshadows rare soccer joy in Iraq
Riot police beat some spectators with clubs to push them away from the gate when the stampede erupted, he said.
Saddam Hassan, an ambulance driver, said there were people of all ages standing by a metal fence leading to the entrance where the stampede took place. He said his ambulance took injured with “bruises and broken bones” to hospital.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry urged people without tickets for the final match to leave the area. It said the stadium was full and that all gates were closed.
Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who arrived in Basra on Thursday, urged people to help authorities in order to “show the final match of 25th edition of the Gulf Cup in its most beautiful form.”
The tournament, which started Jan. 6, had several incidents, including an outbreak of commotion inside the VIP section that made a Kuwaiti prince walk away from attending the opening match. It was not clear what the commotion entailed but Kuwaiti media said it was “bad organization.”
