A tragedy happened this Saturday night during the match between Alianza and FAS for the quarterfinals of the Clausura Tournament, in El Salvador. At 15 minutes of the first half, the game was paralyzed and eventually suspended after fans tried to invade the lawn and promoted chaos in the stands.
With fans being crushed and trampled, many were injured and killed. At least 12 deaths have already been confirmed and more than 90 are injured, according to local authorities and according to an official note from the press secretary of the presidency of El Salvador.
The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, declared on his Twitter that an “exhaustive investigation” will be conducted that will go through “teams, managers, stadium, box office, league and federation” and decreed that there will be no impunity.
The @PNCSV and the @FGR_SV will carry out an exhaustive investigation of the events that occurred in the Cuscatlán Stadium.
Everyone will be investigated: teams, managers, stadium, ticket office, league, federation, etc.
Whoever the culprits are, they will not go unpunished.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 21, 2023
El Salvador’s Minister of Health, Francisco Alabi, also said via Twitter that rescue teams had already been mobilized and that the 90 injured were being transported to local hospitals.
The exact causes of the incident are still unclear, but, according to the director of the national police, Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, local authorities are working with the suspicion that a technical failure occurred when validating tickets digitally at the entrance, which generated a large crowd and commotion at the south gate of the stadium.
The local media also commented on the possibility that they sold more tickets than allowed for the capacity of the stadium.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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