At least two people have been killed and dozens injured in a stampede at a stadium in Basra, southern Iraq, ahead of the Arabian Gulf Cup final.
The Iraqi interior ministry told Al Jazeera that two people had died and about 80 have been in injured in the stampede on Thursday.
Some of those injured were in critical condition, the official Iraqi News Agency quoted a medical source as saying.
Hosts Iraq are set to face Oman in the final of the eight-nation Arabian Gulf Cup at 7pm (16:00 GMT) on Thursday.
Thousands of fans without tickets had gathered outside the stadium since dawn in the hope of watching the rare home international match.
An AFP photographer inside the stadium said the turnstiles were still closed when the stampede broke out. Sirens blared as ambulances arrived to ferry the injured to hospital.
Journalist Ismael Adnan, reporting from near the stadium, described the situation as “very chaotic”. He said it remained unclear if the final would go ahead.
Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed reporting from Basra said some people without tickets tried to push in order to enter the stadium, according to sources at the stadium’s security.
“Security has been calling for people to refrain from pushing at the gate. The interior minister is calling on fans to refrain from heading to the city,” Abdelwahed said.
“Meanwhile the prime minister arrived in Basra and has met with officials of Basra to look into the incident. He is calling on the fans to cooperate with security at the stadium.”
Iraq’s Interior Ministry in a statement urged people who don’t have tickets for the final match to leave the stadium area. It said that the stadium is full and all gates have been closed.
“According to the Iraqi Football Federation, about 90 percent of the tickets were already sold ahead of the kick off,” Abdelwahed said, adding that this upset many Iraqi football fans, some of whom had traveled across several provinces to attend the game.
Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Jasim lines reporting from Basra said there were more than 60,000 spectators outside the stadium.
“Thousands arrived since yesterday night and some slept on the streets, causing road closures and many security forces came to control the crowds,” Jasim said.
Iraq was already forced to apologise to its neighbour Kuwait after a scuffle in the VIP section prevented its leader’s representative from attending the opening ceremony earlier this month.
The tournament started on January 6, with teams from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — as well as Yemen and Iraq. It’s the first time since 1979 that Iraq has hosted the tournament. (AlJazeera)
