FIFA has penalized the Ivorian Football Federation for a stampede that killed at least 19 people at Abidjan’s Felix-Houphouet-Boigny stadium in March.
The disaster occurred ahead of and during the early minutes of a World Cup qualifier between Ivory Coast and Malawi and was caused by a crush of ticketless fans at one of the stadium gates. In addition to a fine of 50,000 Swiss francs, capacity at the stadium will be limited to 20,000 for the September 5 qualifier against Burkina Faso. The stadium can typically accommodate 35,000 people. FIFA is also mandating a set of security measures outside the ground.
“Externally, a mandatory traffic control cordon will be established at least one kilometre away from the stadium itself,” read a FIFA statement, “and a spectator control cordon will be established between 100 and 200 metres from the stadium in order to filter the access of spectators.”
Additionally, future home matches will not kick off until FIFA’s security officer has approved the “safety and security” of the grounds.
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