- African football body CAF calls for ‘thorough’ investigation into DR Congo stadium disaster
- Fifteen fans died as a stampede broke out at the game between AS Vita and TP Mazembe
- FIFA President Sepp Blatter offers support of the entire football community
- Match took place in stadium of ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fame
(CNN) — African football’s ruling body, the Confederation of African Football, has called for a thorough investigation into how 15 fans died at a league match in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The fatalities occurred after a stampede broke out in the closing stages of Sunday’s decisive meeting between the country’s biggest clubs, AS Vita Club and TP Mazembe.
Reports state that trouble flared after fans of home side Vita started throwing missiles onto the pitch with their team trailing 1-0 in a game where the victor would take the title.
The police responded by firing tear gas whereupon a stampede for the exit gates led to chaotic scenes of overcrowding, resulting in the deaths and injuries to over 20 others.
Read: Italy hit by fresh racism storm
On its website, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said the stampede ’caused the collapse of a wall and a gate of the Tata Raphael stadium’.
The match was taking place in the Congolese capital Kinshasa, at the stadium that staged the legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ boxing bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974.
“I wish to reemphasize that any acts of violence have no place in football,” CAF President Issa Hayatou told
Incoming Search Terms:
15 fans die in soccer stampede
fans, Soccer, stampede
