AIPS – CONAKRY: A crowd crush at a football stadium in southern Guinea, reportedly sparked by a controversial refereeing decision, has left at least 56 people dead and dozens of others injured, according to authorities in the west African country.

Minister of Information and Communication Fana Soumah said in a statement that authorities were conducting an investigation to establish those responsible for the incident at the Stade du 3 Avril in Nzérékoré, the country’s second largest city.

According to local reports, on Sunday afternoon, thousands of spectators were present at the stadium which was hosting the final of a football tournament in honour of the leader of the country’s junta, Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a coup in September 2021.

Witnesses told Reuters that the commotion began after the referee officiating the game sent off a player and awarded a disputed penalty in the dying minutes. Angry fans invaded the pitch and threw stones, while the police reportedly responded by releasing tear gas.

“The stone-throwing started and the police joined in, firing tear gas. In the rush and scramble that followed, I saw people fall to the ground, girls and children trampled underfoot. It was horrible,” Amara Conde, who was at the stadium, told Reuters.

Social media videos, which the Reuters news agency verified by checking visuals against satellite imagery of Nzérékoré, Guinea, showed people trying to climb over a wall and get out of the stadium.

“The government deplores the incidents that marred the football match between the Labé and Nzérékoré teams this afternoon in Nzérékoré,” Prime Minister Bah Oury said earlier in a statement.

“The government is monitoring the development of the situation and reiterates its call for calm so that hospital services are not hindered in providing first aid to the injured,” Oury said,

One doctor, who did not want to be named, told AFP news agency there were “bodies lined up as far as the eye can see in the hospital”.

“Others are lying on the floor in the hallways. The morgue is full,” he added.

Guinea’s football body, Feguifoot, said that football is meant to “unite hearts and bring minds closer” not cause “tragedy and grief”.

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