Thursday’s stampede outside a soccer stadium outside the cup final in the southern city of Basra killed one user and wounded dozens, medics and security resources said.
“I felt like I was going to die,” said one Doha Hashem supporter, recalling being caught in the stampede as thousands of people, many without tickets, tried to enter the stadium after rallying at dawn gates.
When she returned, she found herself “trapped in a sea of people,” she told AFP. “I panicked. I couldn’t breathe. “
Hashem controlled to escape unharmed, but others were very lucky.
Security forces dispersed the crowd and the attack continued, with Iraq beating Oman 3-2 to take home the cup.
Fireworks and horns echoed all night, from Basra in the south to Arbil in the north, as Iraqis celebrated victory, the morning tragedy almost forgotten.
But the reputational damage may last longer for war-torn Iraq, which last hosted the Gulf Cup in 1979 under former dictator Saddam Hussein.
For the sake of the stampede cause, a member of the organizing committee of the cup pointed the finger at the corporate issuer of the tickets.
Banks “are safe, can be counterfeited and easily reproduced,” he said, refusing to be known for fear of retaliation.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled al-Mahna said security forces had obviously ordered those without genuine tickets to leave.
But the enthusiasts “cooperated and a crowd formed,” he told AFP.
The incident is not the first logistical error to get the cup right, which is disputed between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen in addition to Iraq.
Iraq was forced to apologize to neighboring Kuwait after a fight in the VIP segment prevented its boss’s representative from attending the opening rite on Jan. 6.
That same night, thousands of ticket enthusiasts and accredited journalists, two AFP photographers, were turned away as they tried to enter the stadium.
-‘Good start’-
Long banned from hosting soccer events abroad, the Gulf Cup is an opportunity to show that Iraq can safely host a tournament as the country seeks to rebuild after decades of conflict.
In Basserah, hotels and sports facilities have been modernized and the city has been remodeled.
President Abdul Latif Rashid made no mention of the incidents in a tweet following Iraq’s victory, describing the cup as “a smart start for the country to host more sporting events. “
For now, there are no other overseas events on Iraq’s agenda.
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino posted a message on Instagram saying “the minds and prayers of the entire football network are with the families and friends of those involved in the incident. “
Iraq is no stranger to hosting major events, as its holy cities are pilgrimage destinations for millions of Shia Muslims each year.
In September, a pilgrimage to the central city of Karbala attracted 21 million worshippers and passed incident.
However, also in Karbala, another 31 people were killed in a stampede at Shiite Ashura commemorations in 2019.