Albion's Meite in stadium horror; TRAGEDY: 22 fans dead after stampede at African World Cup qualifier.Byline: By Chris LepkowskiMIDLAND footballer 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 Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (born March 11, 1978 in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast) is a footballer from the Ivory Coast who currently plays for Chelsea FC in the English Premier League. Drogba is the current African Footballer of the Year. , Salomon Kalou Salomon Kalou (born August 5 1985 in Oumé, Côte d'Ivoire) is an Ivorian football player, who currently plays for Chelsea and formerly for the Dutch club Feyenoord Rotterdam. He is a forward, but he is also capable of playing on the wing. and Kolo Kolo (meaning "wheel" in some Slavic languages) may refer to one of the following:
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 Tony Mowbray, (born November 22 1963), is a former professional football player and the manager of West Bromwich Albion. Playing career Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic, and finally Ipswich Town as a tough centre half. , 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 eightday 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 ahead of the Ivory Coast v Malawi game today. 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. CAPTION(S): Men carry out an injured spectator following the stadium stampede at a World Cup qualifying match between Ivory Coast and Malawi yesterday.; West Bromwich Albion player, Abdoulaye Meite, who was playing when the stampede occurred |
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