It's rather shocking to look back at the history of extreme fan violence at soccer matches. The following incidents were taken directly off Google News archive - and these are just the most serious incidents. Dozens more occurred with hundreds of injuries but few or no fatalities. The Washington Post newspaper did a story about fan violence today, but they ignored most of these:
May 24, 1964: Lima, Peru. 300 die as police tear gas rioting fans, causing a stampede.
Sept. 17, 1967: Kayseri, Turkey. 44 die in rioting
Feb. 19, 1977: Guatemala City, Guatemala. Fans attack players with machetes - 5 dead
Feb. 8, 1981: Piraeus, Greece. 21 dead in stampede
May 29, 1985: Belgium. 41 dead after British fans rush the stadium gates
April 16, 1989: Sheffield, England. 94 dead, crushed against steel barricades
January 14, 1991: Johannesburg, South Africa. 40 trampled to death, caused by brawling fans
July 14, 1996: Tripoli, Libya. Dozens killed in fights after fans rush the field to dispute referee's call
October 16, 1996: Guatemala City, Guatemala. Over 80 die in overcrowded stadium
April 12, 2001: Johannesburg, South Africa. Fans outside the packed stadium force their way in, 50 people trampled to death.
April 29, 2001: Lubumbashi, Congo. 7 dead in crush of fans in stadium
Sept. 15, 2008: Bukembo, Congo. 13 fans killed after a riot caused by the belief that a player was using witchcraft against the opposing team
Feb. 1, 2012: Port Said, Egypt. 79 dead in rioting
tags: fifa uefa world cup sepp blatter premier league