The Salvadoran Football Federation (Fesfut) and the clubs decided on Wednesday to suspend the closing of the national championship tournament after a stampede that left 12 dead on Saturday at a stadium, angering the players.
“We have decided to declare the El Salvador 2022-2023 National Championship over,” they said in a joint statement. “This proposal was made due to the seriousness of the events and the need to guarantee the safety conditions of the sports facilities,” they added.
“There is no tournament champion,” Fesfut said. Because of this, the federation will propose that the 2022 champion and runner-up, FAS and Jocoro, as well as the Águila club, the best ranked in the 2023 championship, represent El Salvador in the next Concacaf tournament.
This decision angered Salvadoran soccer players. In a press release, a group called ‘United Players’ urged the federation to “reconsider the decision (…), to consider our opinion for the first time and respect our right to work.” The end of the championship is “a quick step”, they said, believing that “immediate solutions” can be found to the security problems in the stadiums.
At least 12 people were killed and 500 injured in a stampede at San Salvador’s 35,000-capacity Cuscatlán stadium on Saturday at the start of a first division match between local team Alianza and FAS CD.
The Alianza club is responsible for the accident and received a one-year ban for matches behind the closed doors of Fesfut. According to the authorities, a possible sale of fake tickets or a sale of excess tickets could be at the source of the tragedy, as many people tried to enter the saturated stadium.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
