The 2022 FIFA World Cup has not exactly been the smoothest or safest edition of the iconic sporting event. The Qatari government admitted that hundreds of lives were lost as a result of the massive construction projects required to build the event’s stadiums and it appears that more fans were put at risk during Tuesday’s match between Morocco and Spain.
As shown by Kathryn Batte of MailSport, a “huge amount of people” were gathered outside the stadium trying to get into the venue to watch Tuesday’s Morocco vs. Spain match, but security was blocking the entrance resulting in a very dangerous situation where people were pinned up against a chainlink fence.
This is not good. https://t.co/SZhrBNewkh pic.twitter.com/DsrMRwXVxB
— Kathryn Batte (@KathrynBatte) December 6, 2022
According to Batte, the situation briefly calmed down, but things escalated again a few minutes later and got even more out of control when a secruity guard fell from a horse.
So this second incident happened when the spectator entrance was shut. It had stayed open during first half so fans getting late tickets could still enter. When it was shut it caused chaos with an officer falling off his horse and then a pushback against the fans. https://t.co/ANijkLw8qN
— Kathryn Batte (@KathrynBatte) December 6, 2022
“There had been relative calm for some time but suddenly it has all kicked off again. More fights between security and fans after a horse lost its rider,” Batte. “So this second incident happened when the spectator entrance was shut. It had stayed open during first half so fans getting late tickets could still enter. When it was shut it caused chaos with an officer falling off his horse and then a pushback against the fans.”
It’s not clear whether anybody was injured, but it was certainly a dangerous and chaotic situation that could have been prevented.
