Female football fan, 29, dies in crush at Champions League quarter-final match

30 April 2023 , 11:12

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Police struggled to control the crowds at the Mohammed V Stadium (Image: Getty Images)

A football fan was tragically killed in a crush outside a football stadium in Morocco on Saturday.

The 29-year-old female supporter, confirmed to be named Noura, died during a crush at the Stade Mohammed V on Saturday ahead of the CAF Champions League quarter-final showdown between Moroccan side Raja CA and Egyptian giants Al-Ahly. Thousands of fans had attempted to get into the stadium ahead of kick-off, triggering a mass crush.

An official statement from Raja read: "Aziz El Badrawy, President of Al-Raja Club Athletic, in his name and on behalf of all members of the club, extends his deepest condolences to the family of the fan, Noura, who passed away before our team's match against Al-Ahly."

According to The Guardian, an investigation into the incident has already been launched by authorities in Casablanca, where the match was taking place. Authorities and medical services were called, with the woman receiving attention, but she tragically succumbed to her injuries.

Raja found themselves 2-0 down after the first-leg and failed to overturn their deficit as Al-Ahly secured their place in the semi-finals of the competition. They will now face Tunisian outfit ES Tunis after they progressed following a game that was also marred by ugly scenes.

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Authorities once again failed to deal with severe crowd trouble ahead of the clash with JS Kabylie. The second-half of the game was delayed by 40 minutes as members of the home support clashed with Tunisian security.

One fan tragically lost their life ahead Raja's clash with Al-Ahly (Getty Images)

Fireworks were also lit which saw small fires break out in the stands at the Stade Olympique de Rades. Local fires services eventually had to be called in order to deal with the blazes, whilst a number of Algerian fans claimed that they had been subjected to unprovoked attacks by the security forces at the game itself.

It is not the first time that Egyptian side Al-Ahly have been involved in ugly scenes over recent years. Eleven Egyptian ultras were previously sentenced to death following riots in February 2012.

Rioting broke out at the end of a fixture between Al-Ahly and Al-Masry in Port Said 11 years ago. The violence occurred at the end of the match between the two sides after Al-Masry fans stormed supporters of their opposition with weapons including knives, rocks and clubs. Those shocking scenes saw the Egyptian top-flight suspended for over a year before fixtures resumed behind closed doors. Fans were eventually allowed back into stadiums three years later.

Daniel Orme