Five of the worst disasters in football history

2. The National Stadium Disaster

Present day fans at the Estadio Nacional in Peru

Date: May 24th, 1964

Location: Estadio Nacional in Lima, Peru

On May 24th, 1964, Peru were hosting Argentina at South America's Olympic qualifying tournament, both teams competing for a chance to play at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The stadium, with a capacity of 53,000 seats, was almost entirely full.

Argentina was leading 1-0 when a disallowed Peru equaliser by the Uruguayan referee resulted in two angry fans invading the pitch. Things started going out of hand when the second fan suffered a brutal assault at the hands of police officials in the field. It was only a few seconds before more angry fans tried to break down the barriers to get to the pitch.

This resulted in police unleashing tear gas shells and dogs on the angry mob. This caused panic among the thousands, with the crowd attempting to exit the stadium. Hundreds were trampled as the mob tried to get away from the police by charging at the exits.

A fan who was at the Estadio Nacional that day recalled that the tunnel was so tightly packed that "his feet did not touch the floor until he ended up at the bottom, trapped in a pile of bodies, some living, some dead."

The chaos continued outside the stadium - mobs set fire to houses and a tyre factory and 100 cars were reported to have been stolen.

A total of 328 people died of internal haemorrhaging and asphyxia that day while more than 500 were injured in the incident. This number does not include those who died by gunfire.

This disaster is, to this day, considered the worst disaster in the history of world football.