The justice announced the arrest of Pedro Hernandez, the president of the Alianza de San Salvador, the head of security of the club, its financial director, as well as the general manager of the company that operates the Cuscatlan stadium where the tragedy occurred.
Twelve people died in the 35,000-seat stadium, one of the largest in Central America. More than 500 others had to seek medical care.
The tragedy occurred when turned away supporters broke down a gate giving access to the southern sector of the stadium, the most popular.
Fans invade the pitch after a stampede at the Cuscatlan stadium, in San Salvador, on May 20, 2023 © Gabriel Aquino / AFP
President Bukele immediately announced on Twitter that the investigation "will concern everyone: teams, management, state, ticketing, league, federation, etc.". "Whoever is guilty, they will not go unpunished," he warned.
"The investigation revealed that there were not enough entry points for the number of fans" expected during the Alianza-FAS match, the quarterfinals second leg of the closing tournament of the local championship, the Attorney General's Office (FGR) said on Twitter.
In addition, access "was not opened early enough to allow orderly and safe entry," he added.
"Greed"
"After selling all the tickets for the match", the organizers also "decided to illegally sell tickets issued for previous matches", accuses the prosecutor, pointing to the "negligence" and "greed" of the defendants.
Overselling tickets on the black market is a common practice in the country, and not only for this match, said Civil Protection Director Luis Alonso Amaya.
Those arrested are expected to face trial in the coming days and if convicted, face up to 12 years in prison.
The Salvadoran Football Federation (Fesfut) and the clubs announced Wednesday the decision to stop the closing tournament of the national championship, provoking the anger of the players. The federation invoked "the need to guarantee safety in sports venues".
The Alianza club was held responsible for the tragedy by the Festfut and received a sanction of one year of matches behind closed doors. He was also declared the loser of the match with the FAS club, also from the capital which had been interrupted at the time of the tragedy, after 15 minutes of play. Alianza was finally fined $30,000 by the federation.
For the federation, Alianza had "not adopted measures to prevent events" or had "done so negligently".
In particular, it considered that access controls to the stadium had been "manifestly deficient".
© 2023 AFP