The recently concluded Euro 2008 was widely covered in the international media, but there was another story that attracted less coverage and readership. Spain’s victory party at Euro 2008 turned sour when one fan was killed and nearly 100 injured during wild celebrations in Madrid.
The victim, a 40-year-old man, was found lying in a pool of blood by street sweepers in the center of the capital. Initial media reports suggested that he likely sustained a head injury.
After the national team broke a 44-year spell, Spaniards took to the streets in wild celebrations that lasted well into the next day. Wrapped in Spanish flags, fans set off fireworks and honked car horns.
Police tried to stop fans from jumping into the Cibeles fountain, the traditional way to celebrate a soccer victory, and charged with batons to break up isolated riots in the capital. More than 50 supporters were arrested for acts of vandalism and public disorder. Luckily there was only one reported death.
The game of soccer has been closely associated with hundreds of deaths. Many times it was the result of football hooliganism or riots and many times it was the result of accidents or stampedes or fights between fans.
Football and violence have moved hand in hand for many years. In 1314, King Edward II of the United Kingdom banned football to prevent football-related violence. Most football-playing nations have witnessed football-related deaths from time to time.
In 1968, more than 70 people were killed when a crowd attending a soccer game in Argentina crashed after youths threw burning paper at each other. In 1971, a fight broke out at a match in Brazil, killing four and injuring 1,500.
In 1964, in another soccer accident, more than 300 soccer fans were killed and another 500 injured in Peru in a riot during an Olympic qualifying match between Argentina and Peru.
In June 2006, Germany beat Poland in a World Cup final match, a result that meant Germany qualified for the second round of the final. The match was marred by violent clashes between German and Polish fans. Police arrested more than 300 people in Dortmund after clashes broke out. German fans threw chairs, bottles and fireworks at the police. Various groups of German and Polish fans fought each other in separate matches. In February 2007, in Saxony, all matches in the German lower leagues were canceled after some 800 fans attacked 300 policemen after a match.
In Turkey, before Galatasaray’s UEFA Cup semi-final match with Leeds United AFC in 2000, many fans were stabbed to death following street fights between Turkish and British hooligans.
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, there were limited incidents of violence, with more than 200 preventive arrests. During that time, police believe that on average each rioter consumed or spilled 17 liters of beer.
In a more serious situation, police had to protect Libyan fans in Egypt from missiles thrown at them by Egyptian fans in the upper tier during a match between Egypt and Morocco.
In another soccer accident, 125 people were killed and hundreds injured when soccer fans stampeded into a match in Ghana in 2001. In Johannesburg, South Africa, on January 14, 1991, forty people were killed when fans they rushed towards a jammed exit to escape rival fans who were fighting in a match. game southwest of Johannesburg.
On April 15, 1989, in England, ninety-five people are killed and at least 200 injured in Britain’s worst sporting disaster after a surge of crowds crushed fans against barriers in the semi-final match of the English FA Cup between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium.
In thousands of other cases, hundreds of fans were stabbed in various locations around the world. Many matches were canceled and many clubs paid heavy fines. Public property faced destruction in countless events. All of these incidents leave the game with a tarnished image. Now, most soccer-playing nations are taking extra security measures for various tournaments. Along with the governments, a lot also depends on the fans. Only they can help stop such violence. A broader and more liberal perspective among fans is needed to make sport a sporting affair!