Guinea stampede during football match leaves more than 50 dead

A controversial refereeing decision during a local football tournament in southeast Guinea sparked violence and a stampede, killing 56 people according to a provisional toll, the government said on Monday.

Scores of football fans, including children, were killed in a stampede and as security forces tried to quell clashes during a match at a crowded stadium in Nzerekore, southern Guinea’s largest city.

The stampede broke out on Sunday afternoon at the Nzerekore city during the final of a local tournament between the Labe and Nzerekore teams in honor of Guinea’s military leader, Mamadi Doumbouya, Guinea’s Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah said on the X platform.

The Guinean government said on Monday that around 56 people were killed and more were wounded in a crush after violence broke out over a contested goal.

“The government condemns the incidents that marred the match between Labe N’Zerekore,” Bah posted on Facebook, reiterating a “call for calm so as not to impede hospital services from aiding the injured.”

Local media reported that security forces tried to use teargas to restore calm after the chaos that followed a disputed penalty.

Videos that appeared to be from the scene showed a section of the stadium shouting and protesting the refereeing before the clashes broke out as fans poured onto the field.

Source: France 24