SAN SALVADOR: El Salvador’s Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrest of five people allegedly responsible for the weekend stampede at the Cuscatlan stadium in the country’s capital that left 12 fans dead during the second leg of the quarter-final playoffs between Alianza FC and Club Deportivo.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has named three Alianza FC team officials, including the president, the security manager and the financial manager, as well as the general manager of Estadios Deportivos de El Salvador (EDESSA) and the person in charge of the stadium keys, who will be prosecuted for culpable homicide, culpable injury and public damage.
“Negligence in the organization and greed, by over-selling, generated a human avalanche that caused the loss of lives, as well as injuries and endangered the safety of the attendees. They will be brought before the courts in the coming days,” the Prosecutor’s Office said on Twitter on Thursday.
A total of 12 fans died and hundreds were treated by rescue services last Saturday after a stampede was reported at one of the entrances to the general sector of the Cuscatlan stadium, an event that shocked football internationally.
According to the institution’s investigations, the gates provided were not sufficient for the number of fans and the entrances were not opened early enough for an orderly and safe entry.
The organizers, having sold out the tickets available for the sporting event, decided to illegally sell tickets issued for previous matches, it added.
Reuters could not immediately contact those named or their lawyers.
Salvadoran Football Federation fined Alianza FC $30,000 and handed down a one-year stadium ban on Tuesday.
On Wednesday night, El Salvador’s football authorities ended the 2022-2023 professional league championship to focus on reinforcing security measures for the events.
Arrest warrant issued for five people in El Salvador stadium stampede
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Arrest warrant issued for five people in El Salvador stadium stampede
- “Negligence in the organisation and greed, by over-selling, generated a human avalanche that caused the loss of lives,” the Prosecutor's Office said
- A total of 12 fans died and hundreds were treated by rescue services last Saturday
Marmoush, Salah strike as Egypt edge out holders Ivory Coast in quarter-final
- Egypt wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute
- That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance
AGADIR, Morocco: Omar Marmoush netted the opener and Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal as Egypt ended Ivory Coast’s reign with a narrow 3-2 triumph in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
Center back Rami Rabia was the other scorer for the Egyptians, who had little possession at the Grande Stade Agadir but took their chances with clinical precision and held on grimly to book a semifinal meeting with Senegal on Wednesday.
An own goal from Ahmed Fatouh and a late effort by Guela Doue proved insufficient for the Ivory Coast, winners of the tournament on home soil two years ago but now deposed as African champions.
Egypt, who have won a record seven Cup of Nations titles, wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute after Hamdi Fathy pinched the ball from Franck Kessie in the midfield, allowing Emam Ashour to thread a pinpoint ball to the sprinting Marmoush. He still needed to shrug off the attentions of defender Odilon Kossounou before slotting home.
But it quickly became clear the Ivorians were going to dominate possession, showing much more physical strength on the ball but without setting up clear chances.
Egypt went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute when Rabia rose above the defenders to head his side further ahead from a corner.
The Ivory Coast, who had 70 percent of possession in the first half, reduced the deficit eight minutes later when teenager Yann Diomande’s freekick near the corner took a slight brush off Kossounou’s head and ricocheted off the knee of full back Fatouh and into the net.
SALAH FINISHED OFF CLEVER MOVE
The Ivorians had come from 2-0 down to beat Gabon 3-2 earlier in the tournament but hopes of turning the scoreline around soon after the re-start were stymied by a simply created, but superbly finished, goal for Salah seven minutes after the break.
Rabia was well inside his own half when he chipped the ball over the top of the Ivorian defensive line, allowing Ashour to run onto it and hit an accurate pass with the outside of his right boot into the path of Salah to score.
An Ivorian comeback was still on when Doue touched home at the end of a goalmouth scramble in the 73rd minute.
That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance.
Earlier on Saturday, Nigeria overpowered Algeria 2-0 in Marrakech and will take on hosts Morocco in the other semifinal.
