May 9 Disaster ; The Beautiful Game That Turned Ugly....

On this day 9th May in 2001, during a soccer match at Accra Stadium in Ghana, an encounter between police and rowdy fans results in a stampede that kills 126 people. This tragedy was the worst-ever sports-related disaster in Africa’s history to that time.

The Accra Hearts of Oak, playing at home, were leading in their match against archrival Asante Kotoko of Kumasi when Kotoko  fans began tearing up seats and throwing them on the field. Police on the field responded by firing tear gas into the crowd. The crowd, estimated at many thousands above the stated stadium capacity of 45,000, fled for the gates. However, the gates were locked and people at the exits were crushed to death by the masses behind them also trying to leave.

An official inquiry blamed police for over-reacting with reckless behaviour and indiscriminate firing of plastic bullets and tear gas. It also accused some officers of dishonesty and indefensible laxity.

Witnesses at the scene reported that they pleaded with the police to refrain from making the situation any worse by spraying more gas. Ebenezer Nortey, an injured fan, later said It was all the fault of the police. We started begging the police not to fire any tear gas again. But they went ahead. Later, anger at the police role in the tragedy led to relatives shouting anti-police slogans outside a morgue where the dead were being identified.

Reports claim that medical staff had already left the stadium, as the incident happened near the end of the match. Some gates were locked, preventing escape. Six police officers were charged with 127 counts of manslaughter afterwards,but the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to make a case.

In the 1980s, Europe had experienced similar problems, which culminated on April 15, 1989, in the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in which 95 people were killed and more than 200 injured at an F.A. Cup semifinal match. Significant reforms were instituted following that incident and large-scale disasters at soccer matches were later largely confined to South America and Africa, where reforms had not yet been implemented.

Heartfelt message to all families that lost a soul in the May 9th disaster. RIP to all gone souls.