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Sport has witnessed a number of disasters over the years - some of them accidental, some of them intentional, and some completely down to fate.Here are the 10 worst sporting disasters, which not only impacted the fans and players, but the sports as a whole.
#10 The 2001 plane crash that killed Hansie Cronje
On June 1, 2001, Hansie Cronje, a famous South African cricketer, was flying home, but the aircraft lost visibility and the plane crashed into the mountains.
There are theories that Cronje was murdered upon the orders of a cricket betting syndicate because of his involvement in match fixing, but none of them have bene substantiated.
Thecricketingworld was shocked to its roots when the South African captain, recognized as one of the nicest guys in the game, was implicated in a match-fixing scandal, for which he was given a life ban from cricket.
#9 The 1991 boxing fight that almost killed Michael Watson
Michael Watson almost died as a result of brain trauma he suffered during a fight against Chris Eubank for the super middleweight title on September 21st, 1991.
He lasted until the 12th round of the game, but after getting a series of blows from Eubank, he collapsed in the ring. For 30 minutes after collapsing he couldn't stand up. He was in a coma for 40 days and underwent six brain operations.
#8 The 2012 Port Said Stadium riot
On 1 February 2012, a massive riot occurred at Port Said Stadium in Egypt, following an Egyptian premier league football match between Al-Masry and Al Ahly clubs. At least 79 people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured after thousands of Al-Masry spectators stormed the stadium stands and the pitch, following a 3–1 victory by Al-Masry. The winning team's fans violently attacked Al-Ahly fans using knives, swords, clubs, stones, bottles and fireworks as weapons.
#7 The 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster
This disaster is often called the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions.
In 1985, Liverpool and Juventus, two of the biggest clubs in Europe, were facing each other for the first time in a European Cup final. Approximately 1 hour before the match, a large group of Liverpool fans breached a fence separating them from Juventus fans, and ran back into a concrete retaining wall.
Fans already seated near the wall were crushed, and eventually the wall collapsed. Many people climbed over to safety, but many others died or were badly injured. In this disaster 39 supporters died and over 350 were injured.
#6 The 1985 Bradford City Stadium Fire
This is considered to be the worst fire disaster in the history of English football.
The Bradford City stadium fire disaster occurred during a league match in front of a record number of spectators on Saturday, 11 May 1985, killing 56 and injuring at least 265.
The match against Lincoln City had started amid a celebratory atmosphere, with the home-team receiving the Football League Third Division trophy. A small fire was quickly reported by a TV commentator, but in less than four minutes, due to the windy conditions, the fire engulfed the whole stand, trapping several people in the stands and resulting in their deaths.
#5 The 1989 Hillsborough disaster
This incident is often regarded as the worst stadium-related disaster in British history.
The Hillsborough Disaster took place on April 15, 1989 at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. Overcrowding in the stadium caused fans to climb over side fences just to be able to witness the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest football clubs.
A crush barrier broke off and because of the ensuing chaos, fans started to fall on top of each other, which resulted in the deaths of 96 people and injuries to 766 others. The incident has since been blamed primarily on the police for letting too many people enter the stadium.
#4 The 1994 crash that killed Ayrton Senna
On May 1, 1994, Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One World Champion, died in an accident after his car crashed into a concrete barrier during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Italy. He was actually in the lead when he crashed. The previous day,Roland Ratzenbergerdied when his car crashed during qualification for the race.
His and Senna's accidents were the firstfatal accidentsto occur during a Formula One race in 12 years. Sennais still considered as one of the best drivers in the sport, and his death led to a series of changes in the way safety measures were implemented in the sport.
#3 The 1982 Luzhniki disaster
This disaster took place at the Grand Sports Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Russia on October 20, 1982, during the UEFA Cup second round match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem.
A stampede started after a young woman who had lost her shoe on the stairs stopped and tried to find it. The people behind her also stopped and tried to help her look for her shoe, but more and more fans were joining the crowd on the stairs, trying to push their way through and unaware of the cause of the hold-up.
This simple set of acts caused a massive chain-reaction, eventually resulting a terrible stampede. Around 340 fans of FC Spartak Moscow died in the unfortunate incident.
#2 The 1972 Munich Olympics massacre
This disaster is known as the 'MunichMassacre'.
In the 1972 Olympics, 11Israeliathletes were shot dead by thePalestinian terrorist group 'Black September'. Eight Palestinians with bags ofweapons jumped the fence that surrounded the Olympic village. The terrorists then entered the Israeli accommodation and took their athletes as hostages, threatening to kill them if the Israeli authorities did not release 234 Palestinians.
In this shocking disaster, 11 Israeli athletes, a German police officer and 5 of the Palestiniansdied.
#1 The 1958 Munich air disaster
This is one of the most painful and widely documented disasters in the history of football.
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958 when the British European Airways flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a snow-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport, West Germany. On the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes", along with supporters and journalists. 20 of the 44 on the aircraft died. The injured were taken to hospital, where three more died, resulting in 23 fatalities with 21 survivors.
The football team was returning from a European Cup match in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) against Red Star Belgrade.
