World Cup fans panic as police crush them into fence outside stadium

Following the Halloween "crowd crush" tragedy in South Korea, football fans were terrified when they found themselves in a similar situation outside the Education City Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday. Numerous Morocco and Spain fans were trapped against a chain link fence as they were forced back by riot police ahead of the round of 16 clash between the two teams.

Tensions were high ahead of the match between Morocco and Spain, two countries which have a long-standing political and diplomatic dispute stemming from their colonial ties.

Local authorities deployed riot police to prevent altercations between the fans, but they ended up clashing with the fans themselves. The police pushed fans back as they were trying to approach the stadium, and people ended up in a narrow pathway between a wall and the chain fence. Luckily, those who were stuck against the fence were will able to breathe through the gaps.

In the video shared by Daily Mail correspondent Kathryn Batte, fans could be heard screaming while police dogs barked in the distance.

It is unclear why the police decided to block the fans and push them back into the pathway. Men, women and children wearing the team colours from both sides were seen stuck in the chaos.

Mounted police were also seen patrolling the area, while security guards and marshalls inspected match tickets. Those who were legitimate ticket holders were allowed to go through, but only after so many people ended up getting stuck in the dangerous crush.

Incidentally, there were hordes of people who went to the stadium even though they did not have tickets. This onslaught contributed to the chaos outside the venue.

The Moroccan team has a large contingent of supporters in Qatar due to the fact that many of them are in the country as migrant workers. This meant that the crowd during the match against Spain was lopsided in favour of the African nation.

It is unclear if any fans were injured amid the chaos. Meanwhile, on the pitch, Morocco beat Spain 3-0 on penalties after the latter failed to score any of their three attempts. Spain dominated possession throughout regular and extra time, but they failed to penetrate the Moroccan defence.

Despite looking like the stronger side, the Spaniards completely collapsed in the penalty shootout.