On Tuesday, the longest inquest in British legal history was concluded with the jury announcing its findings. It was an inquest into the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster, which resulted in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.
After the two-year-long inquest, a jury found that the 96 fans, who died in the disaster, were unlawfully killed.
It cleared fans of any wrongdoing, finding instead that police errors led to the disaster.
Following the findings, which has vindicated relatives and parents of victims that have maintained that the fans were not to blame for the incident, we look at the worst football stadium disasters in history.
Where does the Hillsborough disaster rank? Read on to find out.
10: Bradford City Stadium Fire
The 10th worst stadium disaster of all time occurred in Bradford, West Yorkshire in England 31 years ago.
On May 11, 1985, 40 minutes into a match against Lincoln City, a fire was started when a cigarette a spectator was trying to put out fell below one of the stands and ignited accumulated litter below. The fire would go on to consume the entire stand.
By the time it was brought under control, 56 people had lost their lives with more than 250 spectators injured.
9: Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny disaster (2013)
On March 29, 2009, there was a stampede before a World Cup qualifier between Cote d’Ivoire and Malawi at the Stade Felix Houpouet-Boigny in Abidjan leaving 19 people dead and 135 others with injuries. The police were believed to have made matters worse by firing tear gas at the crowd in a bid to keep them under control.
An investigation by FIFA, which led to the imposition of a $47,000 fine on the Ivorian Football Federation among other things, failed to prevent the stadium from becoming the scene of 9th worst stadium disaster four years later.
On January 1, 2013, as Ivorians left the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny after New Year fireworks, a stampede resulted in the deaths of 61 people with over 200 people sustaining injuries. According to Ivorian authorities, 26 children and 28 women were among the dead.
8: Luzhniki Stadium disaster
During a UEFA Cup match between Spartak Moscow and FC Haarlem in October 1982, a stampede resulted in the deaths of 66 fans.
The official figures released seven years after the incident showed that 61 fans were also injured in the stampede.
7: 1971 Ibrox Stadium disaster
It is believed that this disaster could have been avoided as they were several warning signs and concerns expressed about safety measures at the Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland – home of Rangers Football Club.
In 1902 a stand had collapsed at the stadium resulting in 25 deaths and leaving over 500 spectators with injuries. In 1963, there were concerns about some of the stadium’s stairways; two years after two people were killed in a crush at the stadium.
Sadly, on January 2, 1971 there was a crush at an exit stairway at the stadium. Sixty-six people died and more than 200 others sustained injuries.
The stadium’s owners were believed to be at fault for the deaths and faced up to 60 court cases filed by relatives of the victims.
6: The Port Said stadium riot
It is quite normal for tempers to flare during an Egyptian Premier League game. But the events of February 1, 2012 at Port Said stadium were not in any way normal. They were tragic.
The match was between El Masry and Al Ahly. The result, a 3-1 victory for El Masry, was not something the Al Ahly fans would accept.
Consequently, they rioted, attacking El Masry fans with weapons ranging from swords to bottles and even fireworks. When the dust settled, 74 people were dead and over 500 injured.
In the aftermath, the Egyptian government suspended the league for two years and tried 64 people and nine police officers. Out of the number, 11 were sentenced to deaths, 26 acquitted, and 36 handed jail terms.
5: The Estadio Mateo Flores disaster
The 30,000-capacity Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala was the scene of the fight worst stadium disaster ever. On October 16, 1996 just before a World Cup qualifier between Guatemala and Costa Rica 83 people lost their lives with 140 others sustaining injuries following a push by thousands of football fans to access the stadium.
According to reports more than 50,000 people, way more than the official capacity, were trying to gain entry into the stadium due to the sale of counterfeit tickets.
Many of those who lost their lives suffocated as a result of the massive crowd and poor design of the stadium.
4: The Kathmandu disaster
On March 12, 1988, 93 football fans died in an attempt to escape from a hail storm in the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium. Up to 100 fans were injured in the incident, which occurred during the 1988 Tribhuvan Challenge Shield football match between Janakpur Cigarette Factory Limited and Liberation Army of Bangladesh.
The fans had tried to rush out of the stadium to avoid the hail storm only to find the exits locked, resulting in those in front being crushed.
3: The Hillsborough disaster
Twenty-seven years after it occurred, the Hillsborough disaster has remained in the news. Unlike other disasters that make the news mainly on their anniversaries, they Hillsborough disaster has remained controversial with families of the victims battling for decades to right the wrong done to their loved ones after their deaths.
On April 15, 1989 during an FA Cup semi-final tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at SheffieldWednesday’s Hillsborough stadium, a crush started at one end of the stadium.
To ease it, the police decided to open one exit gate, which ended up allowing up to 2,000 fans into the grounds. These fans made their way into already overcrowded pens causing a more severe crush.
Following the incidents, which led to 96 deaths, the police blamed the fans and questioned their parents and relatives about their drinking habits as well as if they used drugs, among other things.
The parents insisted the fans did not wrong and today, the jury agreed with them. The actions of the police were a factor in the deaths.
2: The Ohene Djan Stadium disaster
The second worst stadium disaster ever occurred on May 9, 2001 at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, Ghana. It is the worst stadium and sports disaster in Africa.
During a match between Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club and Asante Kotoko, a late goal by Accra Heart which gave them a 2-1 victory led to crowd trouble as disappointed Asante Kotoko fans threw things onto the pitch.
To restore order, the police fired tear gas into the crowd, causing panic and a stampede that left 127 people dead.
1: Lima football disaster
On May 24, 1964, the world witnessed the worst stadium and sports disaster ever. On that they Peru hosted Argentina for a qualifying match for the Tokyo Olympics. A win was crucial to Peru’s hope of making the tournament but it was Argentina that scored and held onto a 1-0 lead as the last minutes of the game approached.
The decision by the referee to rule out a goal by Peru with less than 10 minutes on the clock proved tragic.
Angry Peruvians invaded the pitch, the police fired tear gas into the stands to discourage them but caused a stampede instead. Fleeing spectators ran into closed steel doors with those behind them crushing them against the metal.
A total of 328 people died that day with 500 others sustaining injuries.
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