An unimaginable tragedy unfolded following a controversial red card in an African soccer match with the government of Guinea revealing preliminary estimates of 56 people dead after a riot erupted into a stampede with dozens of people getting trampled. According to reports the catalyst of the riot and subsequent stampede was an 82nd minute red card which led to stone throwing, tear gassing, and worse.
The match was held in the city of Nzerekore near Guinea’s border with Liberia in the far southeastern corner of the country. This soccer match was the final of a tournament being held to honor Mamady Doumbouya, a military leader in Guinea, according to Reuters who authenticated a video circulating on social media showing people being trampled as others tried to scale walls in order to save their own lives.
A witness who spoke with Reuters over the phone described the incident in detail, saying “The stone throwing started and the police joined in, firing tear gas. In the rush and scramble that followed, I saw people fall to the ground, girls and children trampled underfoot. It was horrible.”
Officials in Guinea are describing it as an incident of “confusion and chaos” after the riot erupted following the controversial 82nd minute red card. It sounds like mob mentality took over with thousands of people running in every direction and the vulnerable among the crowd getting trampled if they were unable to keep up with the throngs of running people.
The Associated Press published a video from what appears to be at the edge of the stadium with people desperately trying to get over the walls in order to escape the tear gas fired by police:
It is hard to fathom what that must be like for those in the crowd and for those going to sleep tonight having lost loved ones trampled inside a soccer stadium after violence broke out all because of a red card. Such a senseless tragedy.
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