Sunday, 12 December 2010
Fans of rival Jordanian football teams clashed after a match in Amman
Most of the injuries occurred when a large metal fence separating spectators from the pitch in the Amman stadium collapsed during the violence between fans of national teams Wehdat and Faisali, said police spokesman Col Ahmed Abu-Hamad. Thirty policemen were among the injured, he said.
There is a long history of violence between supporters of the two teams, stemming in part from the decades of tension with Jordan's large Palestinian population.
Most of Faisali's players and fans are from native Jordanian Bedouin tribes while most of Wehdat's players and fans are Palestinian.
Although most of Jordan's Palestinians - excluding natives of the Gaza Strip - carry Jordanian passports and enjoy citizenship rights unmatched by other Arab host governments, many of them complain that they are barred from taking up security and army posts or holding other top positions in the Jordanian government.
Native Jordanians feel the Palestinian refugees have no allegiance to the country.
The violence broke out after Wehdat beat Faisali 1-0 in a crucial qualifying game for the national league.
Faisali's supporters left the stadium first and began hurling bottles and stones at Wehdat's supporters from outside the stadium, triggering a stampede, said witness Ali Qasrawi.
Qasrawi, who was at the match, said police sealed off the stadium's exits, trapping Wehdat supporters inside, and fired tear gas. "That triggered the collapse of the large metal fence, which fell on people and police forces under it," he said.
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