West Brom player Meite on pitch during tragic Malawi football stampede

Mar 30 2009 by Chris Lepkowski

West Bromwich Albion player Abdoulaye Meite was caught up in Ivory Coast’s tragic World Cup qualifier against Malawi, which claimed the lives of at least 22 fans following a stadium stampede and the collapse of a wall.

The Albion defender was on the pitch for 86 minutes of the Ivory Coast’s 5-0 win, with Premier League-based Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Kolo Toure also involved.

More than 130 supporters were injured in the disaster following the collapse of the wall before the kick-off at Abidjan’s 50,000-seater Houphouet-Boigny Stadium.

Albion boss, Tony Mowbray, said today: “Abou was there. I’ve not spoken to him but it was fairly horrific though as you might imagine when people die.

"He didn’t play in our last game because of illness having recovered from injury but we couldn’t stop him playing at the weekend because there was an eight-day gap following our last game.”

Ivory Coast Minister of the Interior, Desire Tagro, said that the stadium in the capital Abidjan was overrun with people who pushed against each other, setting off the panic that led to the stampede.

Stampedes are common at Africa’s crowded stadiums, especially at events that touch national pride.

Badly-equipped security forces are far outnumbered and are often unable to control huge crowds.