Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Riot cops called to fan crush
RIOT police were called in to tackle crowd chaos at a World Cup fan zone last night – just as the tournament kicked off.
Tens of thousands of supporters pushed and shoved against police lines to enter a secure area.
It came as fans were queueing before Qatar’s 2-0 defeat to Ecuador, shown on giant screens at central Doha’s FIFA fan festival.
Officers armed with batons and shields stood at the entrance as crushed fans pleaded to enter the zone. It was not clear if anyone was injured. Iraqi fan Hatem El-berarri said: “It’s very risky. People could die. I saw some kids and said ‘get them up. They cannot breathe’.
“My family is inside. I cannot enter to see them any more.”
Similar problems were reported on Saturday at a pre-world Cup concert as people tried to push their way inside the same six-milelong zone on Doha’s seafront.