The Luzhniki disaster was a deadly human crush that took place at the Grand Sports Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium (Russian: Большая спортивная арена Центрального стадиона им. В. И. Ленина) (now known as Luzhniki Stadium) in Moscow, Soviet Union (USSR; now Russia) during the UEFA Cup second round match between FC Spartak Moscow (USSR) and HFC Haarlem (Netherlands) on 20 October 1982.
66 FC Spartak Moscow fans, mostly adolescents, died in the stampede, which made it Russia's worst sporting disaster.
The number of fatalities in this crush was not officially revealed until seven years later, in 1989. Until then, this figure varied in press reports from 3 to 340 fatalities.
The circumstances of this disaster are similar to those of the second Ibrox disaster.
Famous quotes containing the word disaster:
“Therefore it was surprising that, as we kept the newspapers from
Mother,
She died feeling responsible for a disaster unverified,
Murmuring, in her sleep as it seemed, the ancient slogan
Noblesse oblige.”
—Josephine Miles (1911–1985)