Oppenheimer Stadium disaster
The Oppenheimer Stadium disaster, or Orkney Disaster, at the Oppenheimer Stadium in the city of Orkney in South Africa's North West province was the second-worst sporting incident in South African history, with 42 deaths.
On 13 January 1991, there was a preseason "friendly" association football match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. The stadium had a capacity of 23,000, but about 30,000 fans were admitted and were not separated according to the team they supported. The referee upheld a goal scored by the Chiefs, and supporters of the Pirates objected. Pirates fans threw cans and fruit at Chiefs fans, and allegedly some knife-wielding Pirates fans attacked Chiefs fans. In the stampede, panicking fans trying to escape the brawls were trampled or crushed to death against riot-control fences.
The worst sporting incident in South Africa, the Ellis Park Stadium disaster in 2001, involved fans of the same two teams.
