A view of the aftermath of a stampede at the Cuscatlan stadium in San Salvador, El Salvador, May 20, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. Cruz Verde Salvadorena/via REUTERS
Alianza FC have been handed a one-year stadium ban and fined $30,000, the Salvadoran Football Federation said after at least 12 people died and an unspecified number were injured in a stampede during Saturday’s game against Club Deportivo FAS.
Alianza and Club Deportivo were playing the second leg of their playoff quarter-final game at the Cuscatlan stadium in San Salvador, the country’s capital, when play was suspended after a stampede broke out in the general section.
The venue is one of the largest stadiums in Central America and has an official capacity of more than 44,000 fans.
The federation said Deportivo FAS would advance to the next round after being declared 2-0 winners.
It added that Alianza FC would have to play their games behind closed doors for a year and that they have until July 21 to pay the fine.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has said the National Civil Police and the Attorney General’s Office would conduct a “thorough investigation” into the events at the stadium.
The incident in El Salvador comes after a deadly stampede last year killed 135 spectators at a stadium in Indonesia’s East Java in October. Many were crushed as they fled for exits after police fired tear gas into the crowd.