Tag: football match

  • 125 people die in football stadium stampede in Indonesia

    125 people die in football stadium stampede in Indonesia

    A football game in Indonesia turned deadly Saturday night as security personnel clashed with soccer fans, prompting a stampede and leaving 125 dead with dozens of others injured, officials and eyewitnesses said.

    Four people present at the game told The Washington Post that armed security officers in uniform discharged what seemed to be tear gas into the crowd randomly and directly, which caused panic. It was predicted that 42,000 people would attend the event.

    Frustrated supporters of the losing home team invaded the pitch in Malang in the province of East Java late on Saturday. To control the situation, police officers fired tear gas which triggered the stampede and led to suffocation.

    “I can still hear the voices of children calling for their mothers,” said Bima Andhika, 25, who escaped the stampede with his 14-year-old sister. His uncle and three of his neighbors are among the dead, he said.

    A police spokesperson said 323 people were injured, up from the initial count of 180.

  • Referee halts football match to help Muslim player break Ramazan fast

    Referee halts football match to help Muslim player break Ramazan fast

    A referee had to halt a football league match for a Muslim player, Moussa Niakhate,26, to allow him to break Ramazan fast. It happened during a match between Mainz and Augsburg last week in Bundesliga which is a professional association football league in Germany.

    Moussa Niakhate who is a center-back in the Mainz team was observing fast during the match. The match referee stopped the game at 65 minutes to allow Niskhate to break Ramazan fast by drinking water.

    https://twitter.com/hdfootballl/status/1513867791740379143?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1513867791740379143%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Findianexpress.com%2Farticle%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Ffirst-time-in-history-referee-pauses-game-at-sunset-to-let-player-break-his-ramadan-fast-7867346%2F

    Later, Niakhate ran up to the referee to thank him for this kind gesture. It was the first time in the history of the Bundesliga league that a match has been paused to allow the player to break the fast. Augsburg won the match against Mainz with 2-0 goals. There were other cases where the referee paused the game for a similar situation.

    According to The Mail, Lutz Michael Frohlich – director of communications for the German Referee Committee​ – has given his approval for officials to stop matches to allow players to break their fast during Ramazan.

    “There is no general instruction in this regard,” he said on Monday, “but of course, we support our referees allowing such drinking breaks during Ramazan at the request of the players.”

  • Brazil-Argentina match: Police storm field to arrest players for Covid violation

    Brazil-Argentina match: Police storm field to arrest players for Covid violation

    The World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina was suspended on Sunday due to four English Premier League players who allegedly ‘lied’ on documents they filled out on entry to the country.

    The players were Tottenham pair of Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero and Aston Villa duo Emi Buendia and Emi Martinez.

    The players are said to have reported for international duty with Argentina but things were stopped due to a row over falsified Covid-19 documents.

    As per the Daily Mirror, the Brazil government, FIFA and Conmebol had struck an agreement that the mentioned players would be allowed onto the field to take part in the match.

    But just minutes into the match, officials from Brazilian health authority Anvisa stormed the pitch with police officers and demanded that the match be stopped until the four players were off the field and detained.

    “By decision of the match referee, the match organised by FIFA between Brazil and Argentina for the World Cup Qualifiers is suspended,” South American football governing body CONMEBOL tweeted.

    “The referee and the match commissioner will submit a report to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, which will determine the steps to be followed. These procedures strictly adhere to current regulations.”

    “The World Cup Qualifiers is a FIFA competition. All decisions concerning its organisation and development are the exclusive power of that institution.”

  • Portugal knocked out of Euro 2020 despite Ronaldo being a top scorer

    Portugal knocked out of Euro 2020 despite Ronaldo being a top scorer

    The 2016 Euro Cup champions haven’t managed to defend their title as Portugal were beaten 1-0 by Belgium on Sunday in Seville.

    As per reports, the Portuguese footballer went home despite being the top scorer player with five goals in this championship. Ronaldo has become the oldest player to score for Portugal at a major tournament at age 36 years,130 days. He broke the record set by Pepe at World Cup 2018 (35 years, 124 days).

    Portugal’s team manager Santos complimented the team’s overall performance before stating that some of the players were “crying in the dressing room”. According to him, Ronaldo didn’t score on Sunday but he is a true captain in every sense of the word.

    The big moment came after the match when the official Twitter handle of Euro 2020 posted a video in which Ronaldo can be seen having a quick chat with Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. “Lucky, eh? (The ball) didn’t want to get in today! Good luck man,” Ronaldo was heard telling Courtois.

    Ronaldo’s performance was overshadowed by Belgian midfielder Thorgan Hazard as his 43-minute strike secured the big win. His brilliant goal was the standout of the night. “In these games, if you have a chance, you have to have a go. It went in, with a bit of luck and it was the goal that got us through. It’s a dream for me,” said Thorgan. 

    Belgium will now face Italy who beat Austria by 2-1, on Saturday. The match will be played on July 2 in Munich with full Covid-related SOPs as masks are mandatory in and around the stadium for the audience.