By Andrew Warshaw in Johannesburg
June 7 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter insists there will be no repeat at the World Cup of Sunday’s stampede at a warmup game between Nigeria and North Korea that left 16 people injured.
The worrying scenes in Tembisa, a township in the east of Johannesburg, happened as fans surged to take advantage of free entry into the 10,000-capacity Makhulong Stadium.
The fact that it came just days before the start of the first ever World Cup on African soil has rekindled fears of a major security lapse along with the dangers of overcrowding when the tournament kicks off on Friday (June 11).
The world governing body had already issued a statement last night insisting they were not to blame for what happened and Blatter is adamant that such an incident will not occur during the finals.
“This will not happen in any match of the World Cup, of that you can be assured,” he said.
Stampedes in Africa are rare but many still remember the horrific incident in March last year when 22 people were killed when a wall collapsed during a match in the Ivory Coast.
FIFA have often been criticised for not making tickets more affordable for the local population, most of whom live in poverty.
But secretary general Jerome Valcke said that what happened in Tembisa proved that the organisation had the correct policy.
He said: “We have been criticised very often for not distributing tickets on the matchday at the stadium.
“What happened there proves we are right.
“But you rest assured that in terms of organisation, the levels will a lot higher than what we saw there.”
Nigeria have criticised FIFA for not allowing them to play the friendly in a bigger stadium but Valcke countered: “We told those taking part 10 days ago that they could not play in World Cup stadiums.
“But they have been free to use anywhere else, even some of the big rugby grounds.”
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