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Three reported dead in African Cup qualifier |
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April 25, 2000 ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, APR 24 (AP) - Thousands of fans forced their way into an overcrowded soccer stadium in Liberia, leaving at least three people reported dead and others injured.
During the World Cup qualifier in Monrovia Sunday, some fans tried to storm the field but were brutally beaten back by troops.
Many in the crowd had been waiting in the hot sun for more than eight hours.
Red Cross officials said three people carried out of the stadium on stretchers died of suffocation. Several other people were seriously injured. It was unclear whether there were any arrests.
Officials estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people attended the game, almost double the stadium's capacity of 33,000. Liberia and Chad played to a 0-0 tie.
Many of the fans, including women carrying babies on their backs, entered the stadium by scaling barbed wire fences and overpowering police and soldiers who tried to drive back the onrushing crowd with batons.
President Charles Taylor warned government officials earlier in the week that their jobs could be on the line if they did not attend.
Liberia played all its European-based players, including former world player of the year George Weah. It advanced to the next round on the strength of its 1-0 victory in Chad this month.
On Saturday, Kenyan fans rioted, causing a World Cup qualifier to be abandoned with several minutes left. Fans in the crowd of 20,000 threw bottles and stones on the field and ripped out seats in the stadium in Nairobi.
At Hershey, Pennsylvania, the U.S. team profited even though it didn't play in CONCACAF's final Olympic qualifying tournament.
Hesler Phillips and Luis Ramirez each scored as Honduras posted a 2-0 victory over Canada. Honduras (1-1) kept alive its hopes of advancing to the semifinals of the six-team tournament, which will send its top two finishers to the Sydney Games.
Canada (0-1), making its first appearance in the preliminary round, will play the United States on Tuesday night. The Americans blanked Honduras 3-0 on Friday and are in excellent shape for advancing to the final four. The Canadians must defeat the U.S. team and score at least three goals to move into Friday night's semifinal round.
Otherwise, the Americans and Hondurans move on. Elsewhere in World Cup qualifying play Sunday:
Cameroon defeated a young and inexperienced Somalia 3-0 despite missing a penalty kick in the second half. Somalia, fielding a team in a Cup qualifier for the first time in nearly two decades, rarely challenged the African champions, who dominated offensively and advanced on a 6-0 aggregate.
Antigua ousted Bermuda in a CONCACAF series, getting a late tying goal by Derrick Edwards for a 1-1 tie. The teams' previous match ended 0-0, so Antigua advanced because of more away goals. That goal came off a cross by substitute Gayson Gregory in the 74th minute that Edwards put in.
At Luanda, Angola, Alves Antonio "Paulao" scored twice as Angola trounced Swaziland 7-1 and advanced to the second round.
At Kinshasha, Congo, the Congolese routed Djibouti 9-1 on a hat trick by Yamweni Ngidi and moved on to the second round. Two Djibouti players were ejected early in the game.
Egypt beat Mauritius 4-2 a week after it scored a 2-0 victory in the first game in Cairo. The second game was played in Alexandria at Mauritius' request, which feared a recurrence of religious-inspired violence at home.
At Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso defeated Ethiopia 3-0 and moved to the next round of World Cup qualifying play. Ethiopia won the first game 2-1.
At Accra, Ghana a perennial African soccer powerhouse, missed numerous chances in a 3-2 victory over Tanzania, one of Africa's traditionally weaker teams. The match featured defensive mistakes by both sides. Ghana, which also beat Tanzania 1-0 in the first game, advanced to the next round on a 4-2 aggregate.
The Republic of Congo beat Equatorial Guinea 2-1 and moved on.
The hosts also won at Equatorial Guinea 3-1.
Host Mali beat Libya 3-1, but the Libyans advanced on a 4-3 aggregate after winning 3-0 in Tripoli earlier this month.
Togo beat visiting Guinea-Bissau 3-0 to win their series. The teams had tied 0-0 in Guinea-Bissau.
Zimbabwe moved on with a 3-1 victory over Central African Republic that followed a 1-0 win in the first game.
Senegal edged Benin 1-0 for a 2-1 aggregate to advance.
Guinea won 3-0 against Uganda, giving it a 7-4 overall edge.
Ivory Coast's 2-0 win against Rwanda advanced it after the teams tied 2-2 in their opener.
Sudan lost 2-1 to Mozambique, but advanced because the teams tied 2-2 in aggregate goals and the Sudanese scored more away goals. |