The Asian Football Confederation today ordered safety checks on all stadiums used by its 45-member nations and demanded an end to overcrowding following a month of tragedies in which nearly 200 people have been killed.
The message was sent following the loss of at least 130 lives in a stampede in Ghana, the fourth tragedy in four weeks, including one in Iran which comes under the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) umbrella.
"Officials close their eyes to overcrowding," general secretary Peter Velappan said after an AFC executive meeting here acknowledged that stadiums built for 10,000 often took double their limit.
Asian football associations have been told "to respect the capacity of each stadium and not to allow even one more person in," Velappan said.
The Ghanaian tragedy followed stampedes in Johannesburg and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past month in which nearly 60 people died, and last week at least two died and nearly 300 were injured when a stadium collapsed in Iran.
"We were shocked with the collapse of this stadium. We had hoped this would never happen in Asia," said Velappan.
"This is a rude awakening for all the national associations in Asia to check out their stadiums to see if they are fit for spectators."
The Asian football chief said it was the responsibility of all associations, from national level down to district level to ensure the safety of spectators.
"As you know when there is an important match or a popular match, officals close their eyes and in a 10,000 capacity stadium they allow 15,000-20,000 people and always there is problem and the danger of a collapse or stampede," he said.
"I have directed all national associations in Asia to check out their stadiums and send in a report ... and if necessary we will send out inspection teams." AFP