A stampede outside a stadium in the southern Iraqi city of Basra killed at least four persons and over dozens injured, hours before the start of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup final, Al Jazeera reported.
On Thursday morning, thousands of fans marched into the 65,000-capacity stadium ahead of the Iraq-Oman match of the Gulf Cup, the first international football tournament to be held in the country in four decades.
The video clips documenting the stampede that took place after the fans stormed the stadium and broke one of the gates were circulated on Iraqi communication sites amid the failure of the responsible security authorities’ attempts to prevent their entry.
Video posted on social media, apparently from the scene, showed fans crying for help while others were pushed away by the moving crowd.
Pictures and video clips circulating on social media showed the Iraqi fans lying on the ground, since Wednesday night Thursday, in front of the match stadium.
The governor of Basra, Asaad Al-Eidani, said that the Gulf Federation informed them of the possibility of canceling the match and transferring it to a neutral country if the situation continues as it is, which was also confirmed by Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani.
Iraq’s interior ministry, in a statement, urged people who do not have tickets for the final to leave the stadium area. It said the venue was full and all gates have been closed.
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Iraq’s prime minister, in a statement on Twitter, called on citizens to “provide assistance and support” to authorities on the ground to “show the final of the 25th Gulf Cup in the most beautiful way”.
State media reported that giant screens were placed in various public places in Basra so that people could watch the match.
The Arab Gulf Football Federation said the match would be held as scheduled at 7 pm Baghdad time.
Oman reserved its seat in the final match after its precious victory over Bahrain with a clean goal, while Iraq qualified after overcoming Qatar with two goals to one.
The final match is a repeat of the inaugural confrontation of “Gulf 25”, where a goalless tie overshadowed the match between Iraq and Oman, before they both qualified for the “Golden Square”.
There were several accidents in the tournament, including a traffic accident on Monday that claimed the lives of seven people and injured 30 others who were on their way to attend the semi-final match.
The tournament kicked off on January 6, with the participation of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – in addition to Yemen and Iraq.
