A crushing accident occurred in Iraq, where the Gulf Cup, the largest soccer tournament in the Middle East, was held, resulting in the death of a person.
Al Jazeera, based in Qatar (UAE), also reported on its homepage on the 19th that “two people were killed and about 80 others were injured in a stampede near the Basra International Stadium ahead of the Gulf Cup final match between Iraq and Oman.”
Prior to this, Iraq’s state-run INA news agency said that one person was killed and about 60 were injured, but the number of casualties seems to increase over time.
Iraq and Oman will compete for the Gulf Cup championship at 1:00 am on the 20th.
When the home team reached the final, a stampede occurred as crowds gathered around the stadium from early morning on the match day.
Local medical staff said “many injured are in critical condition” and said the death toll could rise further.
As the situation escalated, the Iraqi Interior Ministry reportedly appealed that “citizens without tickets to the finals should stay away from the stadium for their own safety.”
A large screen was installed at a distance from the stadium to prevent crowds from gathering, INA said.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Iraq and Yemen participated in the biennial Gulf Cup.
In particular, since this tournament is the first Gulf Cup to be held in Iraq in 44 years since 1979, the international football world is paying attention to whether it will be held successfully.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also attended the opening ceremony. 카지노
In Iraq, since the Gulf War in the early 1990s, the safety of participating countries has not been guaranteed, so international competitions and A-matches have not been held.
Last year, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) tried to hold the U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in Iraq, but the venue was changed to Kuwait due to superpowers such as Australia declaring a boycott.