https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eKlvcCKvtw

African football’s governing body, the Confederation of African Football, called for an investigation into the death Sunday of 15 fans at a league match in the Democratic Republic of Congo, CNN reports.

The fatalities occurred after a stampede broke out near the end of the game between the country’s largest clubs, AS Vita Club and TP Mazembe.

Fans on the home side for Vita started throwing “missiles” onto the pitch when their team
trailed 1-0 in a game where the title would go to the winner, according to CNN.

Police responded by firing teargas. The ensuing stampede for the exit gates led to chaos, with 15 deaths and more than 20 people injured.

The stampede caused a wall and gate at the Tata Raphael stadium to collapse, according to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) website, CNN reports.

The game was held in the Congolese capital Kinshasa, at the stadium that staged the legendary “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974.

“Any acts of violence have no place in football,” CAF President Issa Hayatou said on
cafonline.com. “They must be condemned in the strongest possible terms and I urge FECOFA (the Congolese FA) and authorities in DR Congo to thoroughly investigate this matter and ensure that measures (are) put in place to avoid a repeat of any incidents.”

It’s the worst disaster at a Congolese football match since a 2008 game in Butembo, when 13 spectators — many of them, children — died after fans threw stones and police fired teargas into the crowd.

Mazembe stunned the footballing world in 2010 when it became the first African team to reach the final of FIFA’s Club World Cup. Its name now has more tragic connotations, CNN reported.