Nigeria could face Confederation of African Football (CAF) sanctions for allowing too many spectators into the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna Friday for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Egypt.
An estimated 40,000 fans crammed into the 25,000 capacity Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna as Iwobi came off the bench in the second half as Nigeria drew 1-1 with Egypt in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Hours before kick-off supporters started arriving, with some scaling fences to find their way in after Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, declared the game open to fans.
Supporters were spotted standing wherever they could to grab a view, including on the scoreboard, rooftops and from floodlights as Mohamed Salah left it late to cancel out Oghenekaro Etebo’s opener.
A fan ran unto the pitch while the players were warming up before the match and another was arrested for attempted pitch invasion after Etebo’s goal.
“Nigeria will most likely be penalised by CAF for poor crowd control even though there was no major incident before, during or after the match,” said a leading NFF official, who requested anonymity.
“Sanctions for such a shortcoming would be a fine and a warning,” he added.
Another official said the police failed to stop the crowd gaining access to the stadium even when it was clear that the capacity was overstretched.
FIFA rules prohibit “overcrowding of the stadium or a section of the stadium”.
In 2009, poor crowd control in Abidjan caused 19 deaths before a 2010 World Cup qualifier between hosts Ivory Coast and Malawi.
Investigators said ticketless fans were to blame for the stampede and the Ivorian FA was fined $47,000 by FIFA.
A stampede at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana in 2001 resulted in 127 deaths.
