Football Stadium Disasters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Heysel, Brussels

On May 29, 1985, Liverpool played Juventus in the European Cup Final, held at Heysel Stadium. "In a widely criticized move, the Belgian authorities had allocated a section of the ground to neutral fans. This was an idea opposed by Liverpool and Juventus, as it would easily provide an arena for fans who obtained tickets from Belgian ticket touts outside the ground to clash.

A flimsy wire fence had been erected to segregate the fans. After a rain of missiles from the Italian fans inside the neutral area fell upon the Liverpool fans, the Liverpool fans charged at and breached the fence.

In an attempt to retreat from the advancing English fans, the Juventus fans ran to the far end of the Western End, where a concrete wall blocked their retreat.

The huge load and pressure that resulted from the sheer numbers of people gathered proved too much for the wall, and eventually it gave way - falling directly upon the trapped Italian fans.

Answer: Estadio Nacional

"In May 1964, in Lima, 318 people died and 500 were injured when a riot broke out at an Olympic qualifying match between Peru and Argentina, when the referee disallowed a goal to the home team.
A 1970 World Cup qualifying match between Honduras and El Salvador sparked a border war between those two nations".

Answer: Luzhniki Stadium

October 20, 1982 - Moscow. 340 people are reportedly killed at a European Cup match between Soviet club Spartak Moscow and Harlem of the Netherlands. "Police are blamed for pushing fans down a narrow, icy staircase before the end of the match. When a late goal is scored, exiting fans try to re-enter the stadium and create a "human mincer". Moscow officials dispute the claims made in the publication of the Soviet Sports Committee, saying only 61 died and police did not push fans".

Answer: Valley Parade, Bradford

"56 people were burned to death and over 200 injured when fire, caused by a cigarette, engulfed the wooden main grandstand at Bradford's football stadium. The Bradford City Disaster occurred on May 11, 1985 when a flash fire occurred at the Valley Parade stadium of Bradford City FC during a football match against Lincoln City FC. Bradford City were celebrating winning the Third Division Championship trophy on this day.

A fire occurred in the main stand and quickly spread. Due to its wood and asbestos construction, and the intensity of the fire, the stand quickly collapsed (said to be within 4 minutes of the fire starting). 56 people died in the fire, with hundreds more injured".

Answer: National Soccer Stadium

"93 soccer fans seeking cover during a violent hail storm at the National Stadium were trampled to death in a stampede because the stadium doors were locked".

Answer: Mateo Flores Stadium

"At least 84 people were killed and 147 injured by stampeding soccer fans before a 1998 World Cup qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica held at Mateo Flores National Stadium".

Answer: Accra Sports Stadium

"A Ghana commission of inquiry has recommended charges against police in Africa's deadliest soccer disaster, a May 9 stampede in which 126 soccer fans were killed, the commission chairman said. The panel recommended prosecution for alleged reckless use of firearms on the part of police, who fired tear gas into crowds at Accra's main stadium to try to quell unruly soccer fans, chairman Sam Okudzeto said.

The tear gas set off a panicked rush for the exits. In the stampede, 126 fans were smothered or crushed to death, and scores more were injured. Policemen involved in the disaster should be punished as a warning to others in public service, Okudzeto said. Okudzeto presented findings of the five-member panel to Ghana President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday.

The report has yet to be made public. If Kufuor accepts the findings, charges will follow automatically against police, under the commission's mandate. "Members of the commission are competent people and their judgment must be respected", said Ernest Poku, inspector general of police.

He refused comment on the findings, other than to say Kufuor's decision "should be in the national interest". Some police have objected to the government inquiry, saying police should have been allowed to handle the matter. Appointed by Kufuor, the commission held 17 public hearings, heard 102 witnesses, and visited seven sites in Ghana and two stadiums in Great Britain. In an interim report last month, the panel said lack of basic safety measures contributed to the death toll. The night of the disaster, investigators said, no ambulances were on standby at the crowded stadium, the stadium clinic was closed and there were no security guards at the exits. The final report also recommended a tightening of police training and discipline, after commissioners came across a string of allegedly lax procedures in investigating the disaster, Okudzeto said. They included improper records of police ammunition and falsified entries on officers' comings and goings at the stadium, he said".

Answer: Hillsborough, Sheffield

"In 1989, almost 100 persons [the "official count" was 96] were asphyxiated and 174 injured at the Hillsborough Stadium during an FA Cup semi final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in Sheffield. A larger than expected group of fans striving to enter the Stadium caused police to open gates to relieve crowd pressures.

Instead of relieving pressures, the resulting surge of fans into enclosed terraces created a critical overcrowding". Ironically, "The (match) programme reads: As you look around Hillsborough you will appreciate why it has been regarded for so long as the perfect venue for all kinds of important matches.

It is a stadium that befits such occasions and the large crowds they attract".

Answer: Ellis Park, Johannesburg

"A stampede at a soccer match between two of South Africa's most popular teams left 43 people dead and more than 250 others injured on Wednesday night. In one of the country's worst sports tragedies, thousands of fans who couldn't fit into Johannesburg's Ellis Park stadium last shoved and broke through the fence around the facility or climbed over gates. South African President Thabo Mbeki has promised an urgent inquiry into the stampede -- the worst such incident in South Africa's sporting history.

A capacity crowd of 60,000 was already inside the stadium when a further 30,000 fans were reportedly still trying to gain entry. A goal sparked a further surge which led to the accident. Large numbers of emergency personnel treated the dozens of injured people on the soccer field.

The most seriously injured were airlifted to area hospitals by helicopter. Experts said part of the investigation may focus on reports that the stampede was triggered by untrained security outside the stadium firing tear gas into the crowds.

The crush reportedly started in the east wing of the stadium as fans scrambled for seats and spilled over into box suites. Witnesses said the tragedy occurred because there were simply too many people in the stadium. International observers described scenes of "utter chaos," and said the emergency services appeared poorly equipped to cope with the situation. There were reports that emergency vehicles were hindered by the traffic outside the stadium".

Answer: Ibrox Park, Glasgow

In 1971, 66 people were killed and many injured at the Ibrox Park Stadium in Glasgow. Fans began to leave the stadium in the last moments of a scoreless match. As the game ended, a goal was scored. The roar of the crowd caused some to attempt re-entry, while the mass exited -- Jimmy Johnstone scored for Celtic and almost immediately Colin Stein equalised for Rangers.


The resulting conflict caused a pile of bodies "about 10 feet high". "Compressive asphyxia has occurred from people being stacked up vertically, one on top of the other, or horizontal pushing and leaning forces. In the Ibrox Park soccer stadium incident, police reported that the pile of bodies was 3 m (10 feet) high. At this height, people on the bottom would experience chest pressures of 3600-4000 N (800-900 lbs.), assuming half the weight of those above was concentrated in the upper body area".