Drogba says players were unaware of stampede

Ivory Coast football star Didier Drogba on Monday called an Abidjan stadium stampede that killed 19 fans a “national drama” and said players did not know what happened until after the match.

“It’s a national drama,” the Chelsea player said on French channel Infosport following Sunday’s stampede before a football World Cup qualifying match between Ivory Coast and Malawi.

“We only learned about it in the evening after the match. We were shocked, stunned, when we found out there were deaths. We had difficulty understanding what had happened.”

The 31-year-old striker said those responsible should be identified and lessons must be learned from the tragedy because “these are the kinds of things that are harming the development of football in Africa.”

Ivorian authorities have vowed to punish those responsible for the stampede at the match, which the hosts won 5-0 with Drogba scoring two of his team’s goals.

The west African country’s newspapers raised questions on Monday over why the match was allowed to continue as the disaster unfolded in the stands.

There were also accusations that the huge crowd was swelled by non-ticket holders who had bribed their way past security at the Houphouet-Boigny stadium.