A new tragedy in football. At least 12 people died and more than 100 were injured in El Salvador when they were trampled during a stampede of fans trying to enter the Cuscatlán stadium in the capital San Salvador during the second leg of the quarter-finals (Clausura 2023) between Alianza and FAS (Futbolistas Asociados Santanecos), the Central American country’s government said on Twitter.

The game was abandoned in the stadium with a capacity of more than 44,000 fans.

According to the first information – as reported by the Spanish newspaper Marca – numerous Alianza fans tried to enter the stadium without a ticket, and some of them even with fake tickets, broke an access door to the stadium, which caused a riot.

A tragedy that comes a few months after that in Indonesia, when last October 135 people lost their lives Kanjuruhan Stadium in the city of Malang, in the east of the island of Java, in the violent incidents after the local Arema lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya.

Police used tear gas to try to disperse the fans, with many of them trapped, crammed into exit doors as they tried to escape. Doctors said some of the victims died of suffocation, while others suffered head injuries.

It was one of the world’s worst stadium tragedies in decades, the worst at a football match since 1964.

These are some of the major tragedies at football stadiums in the last 40 years:

October 1982, Russia

Fans were crushed as they left the UEFA Cup match between Spartak and Dutch side Haarlem at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. Officials from the former Soviet Union did not reveal the tragedy for years. When they did, they gave an official death toll of 66, although the number of people crushed to death at a stadium exit could have been as high as 340.

May 1985, Britain

At least 56 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a fire broke out in the stands at the Valley Parade Stadium in Bradford during a third-tier match against Lincoln City.

May 1985, Belgium

Thirty-nine fans were killed and more than 600 injured in violent incidents ahead of the Champions Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool at Brussels’ Hazel stadium.

March 1988, Nepal

More than 90 fans were killed at Nepal’s national football stadium in Kathmandu when they fled in panic towards locked exits amid a hailstorm.

April 1989, Britain

Ninety-six Liverpool fans were crushed to death at Sheffield’s Hillsborough Stadium ahead of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. A sports fan died last June, 32 years after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage in Hillsborough.

January 1991, South Africa

Forty-two people died in incidents during a pre-season match at Oppenheimer Stadium in Orkney between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. A Pirates fan had attacked Chiefs supporters with a knife.

May 1992, France

A grandstand at Bastia’s Stade Fouriani collapsed before the Coupe de France semi-final against Marseille, killing 18 people and injuring more than 2,300. Last year, the French parliament passed a law banning professional matches in the country on May 5, in memory of the victims.

October 1996, Guatemala

Up to 82 people were killed and at least 147 injured when a section of the grandstand collapsed at a World Cup qualifier between Guatemala and Costa Rica in Guatemala.

April 2001, South Africa

At least 43 people were crushed to death when soccer fans tried to force their way into Johannesburg’s massive Ellis Park stadium midway through South Africa’s top-flight derby.

May 2001, Ghana

At least 126 people died in clashes at Accra’s main football stadium when police “responded” by firing tear gas at rioting fans, in one of Africa’s worst football tragedies.

March 2009, Ivory Coast

At least 19 people were killed during riots at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan before a World Cup qualifier against Malawi.

February 2012, Egypt

Fans rioted at the end of the match between Al-Marsi and Al-Ahli in the city of Port Said. At least 73 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured, while the Egyptian league was suspended for two years.

January 2022, Cameroon

At least eight people were killed and 50 injured in riots at the Olebe stadium in the capital Yaounde ahead of Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 match against Comoros.

October 2022, Indonesia

At least 135 people lost their lives, died Kanjuruhan Stadium in the city of Malang, in the east of the island of Java, in the violent incidents after the local Arema lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya. Police used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the fans, with many of them trapped, crammed into exit doors as they tried to escape.

May 2023, El Salvador

At least 12 people died and more than 100 were injured in El Salvador when they were trampled during a stampede of fans trying to enter the Cuscatlán stadium in the capital San Salvador during the second leg of the quarter-finals (Clausura 2023) between Alianza and FAS (Futbolistas Asociados Santanecos).