Goal.com Weekend Special: Worst Football Riots - Part I

The incidents are no particular order.

1. Catania v Palermo 2007 (Italy)

The Sicilian derby between Catania and Palermo on February 2,2007 brought football in Italy to a halt. Palermo supporters were allowed into the stadium only after the second half of the game had begun because of organizational problems. Smoke bombs and firecrackers started to be thrown after that and were replied by policemen throwing tear-gas canisters towards the 'Ultras'.

The match had to be suspended for 40 minutes because of this. The game was eventually won by Palermo 2-1 and this prompted Catania supporters outside the stadium to pick up fights with the police, in which 40-year-old policeman Filippo Raciti was killed. The incident subsequently led to the cancellation of all football-related events in Italy.

2. Liverpool v Juventus 1985 (Belgium)

The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on May 29,1985. It was the occasion of the European Cup final between English club Liverpool and Italian giants Juventus at the Belgian city of Brussels. Trouble started an hour before kickoff when Liverpool and Juventus supporters in sections Y and Z, just yards from each other, started throwing missiles at each other.

Soon a group of Liverpool supporters charged across the terraces, through and over the wire fence towards the Juventus supporters, who then retreated. This led to the collapse of the dividing wall and disaster struck. Juventus supporters at their end decided to hit back and tried to move towards the Liverpool supporters. Police intervened and a fight broke out.

The match eventually went through and Juventus won 1-0 but it was overshadowed by the death of 39 football fans, 32 of them being Juventus supporters.

3. Danubio v Nacional 2008 (Uruguay)

Famously described as 'the riot that stop a whole season', the violence that ensued at the Uruguayan Primera Division match between Danubio and Nacional in 2008 was one of its kind. Fans of either clubs invaded the pitch at the end of the final whistle and started fighting each other and continued doing so for 15 minutes. It was so bad that the Uruguayan FA decided to suspend the league for an indefinite period of time. Strangely, there were no injuries or arrests reported at the time.

4. Peru v Argentina 1964 (Peru)

On May 24,1964 Argentina defeated Peru in an Olympic qualifying match in Lima but it was crowd violence that is mostly associated with that match. Peruvian supporters became angry when a Peruvian goal was disallowed two minutes from time and the protests soon became more volatile and developed into a full-blown riot. Over 300 people were killed as the violence gathered momentum; there were around 500 spectators who were seriously injured.

5. Lupopo v Mazembe 2001 (DR Congo)

Lupopo and Mazembe were involved in a league match at the city of Lubumbashi in DR Congo on April 30,2001. There was a stampede at the stadium following crowd trouble and a total of 14 people were killed in the incident.

6. FC Basel v FC Zurich 2006 (Switzerland)

FC Basel and FC Zurich were involved in a championship decider at St. Jakob-Park on May 13,2006: Basel needed a point while Zurich had to win. Zurich won 2-1 thanks to an injury time goal, which meant they became the Swiss Super League champions.

Half a minute after the final whistle had been blown, Basel supporters invaded the pitch and started attacking the Zurich players and officials who were desperately trying to run away to their dressing room. Zurich supporters had also entered the pitch.

One of the Zurich players had a flare thrown at him but fortunately it missed him. Fights between the Basel hooligans and the police went on outside the stadium. Known as the "Disgrace of Basel", this incident is said to be one of the worst cases of football violence in Switzerland.

7. Rangers v Zenit St. Petersburg 2008 (England)

The UEFA Cup final between Rangers and Zenit St. Petersburg in Manchester was marred by crowd trouble both before and after the match. Rival supporters had already started to get physical before the match in the city of Manchester where the final was held that year and missile throwing too had begun.

Then a large screen set up at the Piccadilly Gardens to show the match to thousands of Rangers supporters unable to get tickets failed to function, leading to discontent among the fans, who then took matters in their own hands. Rangers fans clashed with policemen and there were reports of Zenit supporters getting on the receiving end of things too.

8. Kaizer Chiefs v Orlando Pirates 2001 (South Africa)

On April 11,2001 the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg witnessed the worst sporting disaster in South African history. No fewer than 43 people were killed in a stampede during a match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates that brought the entire footballing world to its feet. The stadium was packed with spectators and a reported 30,000 were outside. As the spectators rushed to their seats, a stampede ensued that saw 43 people crushed to death. The firing of tear gas at the fans aggravated the situation.

9. Socozaki v Nyuki System 2008 (DR Congo)

The derby between DR Congo clubs Socozaki and Nyuki System on September 14,2008 was marred by a ghastly crowd violence. It was sparked when one of the players was accused of using witchcraft. Nyuki goalkeeper was thought to have cast a spell to turnaround the 1-0 deficit they had at the time and this led to a fight between the players. The crowd too got agitated and security forces tried to stop the spectators by throwing tear gas at them and this led to a stampede in which a reported 13 people were killed and over 30 were injured.

10. Birmingham City v Leeds 1985 (England)

The St. Andrews stadium witnessed a horrific incident on May 11,1985 when a riot broke out during the game between Birmingham City and Leeds United. One young boy was killed when a wall collapsed on top of him.

Subhankar Mondal