While the Europeans finally seem to have this sort of thing under control, it is still all too common in African stadiums. Tragedies like this one just don’t bode well for the next World Cup:
At least 22 people were killed and 132 wounded in a crush at a football stadium during a World Cup qualifier in Ivory Coast. Fans panicked after a wall collapsed at the Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan on Sunday, prompting a stampede. Police are said to have fired tear gas at the crowds.
I certainly hope the 2010 tournament in South Africa is without incident, but when one considers that the level of excitement is likely to be several orders of magnitude higher than it is for the qualifiers, I don’t see how one can reasonably confident that it will be.