The Government of Guinea Conakry puts the death toll at 56 in a football match due to the outbreak of violence after an arbitration decision

The Guinean government said Monday that some 56 people were killed and others were crushed in a stampede at a soccer stadium on Sunday afternoon, after violence broke out over a goal disputed between the N’zérékoré and Labé teams. , Reuters reports.

The head of Guinea’s military-dominated government, Amadou Oury Bah, “deplored” the clashes that left dozens dead, according to doctors, during a soccer match in the southeast of the country, and called for calm.

“The Government deplores the incidents that marred the football match between the Labé and N’Zérékoré teams,” he declared on his Facebook page, reports AFP.

“The Government is monitoring the situation and reiterates its call for calm so that hospital services are not hindered in providing first aid to the injured,” he added, without giving details about the number of victims.

Regional authorities are working to “restore calm,” Bah added in a statement, while hospitals treat the injured.

Dozens of people have died, more than a hundred according to some media, in clashes that occurred at a soccer match that took place in N’zérékoré, the second largest city in Guinea Conakry, local media reported.

Apparently, the riots originated after a referee’s decision that was violently protested by those attending the match. between the N’zérékoré and the Labé and an invasion of the playing field occurred.

According to the local press, the police used tear gas after the fans of the visiting team, Labé, threw stones onto the field, angry at the decisions made by the referee during the match, and jumped onto the grass, which caused a stampede of spectators who were trying to leave the stadium.

Thousands of spectators were present when the confrontation occurred in a match between the Guinean teams N’zérékoré and Labé, according to MediaGuineewhich states that the meeting was part of a tournament in honor of President Mamadi Doumbouya who took power through a coup d’état in September 2021, reports Efe.